Eurostar cancels one in four trains after France arson attacks

Eurostar passengers going from London to Paris on Friday were told to delay their journeys if they could because the rail company had to cancel 25% of trains over the weekend. This was due to arson attacks that caused a lot of problems for France's fast train network just before the Olympics began.

Many trains leaving St Pancras International station were on schedule, but travelers were warned to anticipate delays of at least one hour once they reached France.

The train company had to cancel two Friday afternoon trains from London at first. Later, they announced that 25% of their trains across Europe would be cancelled over the weekend.

The disturbance, triggered by what French officials called coordinated and malicious attacks on railroad facilities between Paris and Lille, occurred just before the start of the Games, possibly leaving some travelers stranded as they tried to make it to the opening ceremony.

One of the people impacted was the leader of the country. Keir Starmer was scheduled to travel by train through the Channel Tunnel to participate in the event's kick-off, but opted to fly to Paris instead, as confirmed by a spokesperson from the office of the Prime Minister.

Eurostar announced that they will make an effort to help passengers get to where they need to go, even though they might have to take slower routes. The company stated that due to intentional disruptions in France impacting the high-speed route between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains going to and from Paris will be taking a different, slower route on Friday, July 26th.

This will make the overall journey longer by about ninety minutes. Eurostar foresees that this issue will continue until Monday morning. Today, Eurostar will eliminate a quarter of its train services. The same will happen on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28.

The Eurostar staff are all working hard at stations, call centers, and on trains to make sure passengers have all the information they need to get to where they're going. We recommend that customers delay their travel plans if they can.

Travelers can cancel, request a refund, or make changes to their journey without any additional fees, according to Eurostar.

The unexpected changes have made some travelers worried about getting to the opening ceremony on time. Hadassa Goncalves, a 24-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, had planned to go through London to get to Paris Gare du Nord. She told the PA news agency that her train would arrive almost at 5pm, and she said, "We really want to watch the opening ceremony. This is not good for us. We don't have tickets, but we want to see the fireworks."

Kate Fisher, a 37-year-old traveler from Louisiana, USA, was on a Eurostar journey to Paris with five friends to attend the Games. She mentioned to PA that they were aware of the busy time due to the Olympics, so they expected the journey to be longer. Despite seeing the delay displayed on the departure board, she remained unfazed, stating, "I don't mind as long as we reach our destination."

The majority of Team GB's athletes who were supposed to be at the opening ceremony in Paris had already made it there on the Eurostar train. The British Olympic Association reported that only two athletes were set to travel on Friday and they arrived with just a few small delays.

The national French railway company SNCF has suggested to passengers to delay their trips if they can.

The Eurotunnel's Le Shuttle service is running normally.