‘Not what I had in mind’: Eurostar cancellations leave thousands stranded

Ilse Deurloo was taken aback by the disorder and confusion at St Pancras station when she returned from a joyful vacation with her significant other in London. This was due to thousands of travelers being left stuck at the station.

Deurloo, a 20-year-old Amsterdam resident, expressed disappointment when she learned that her plans to return home on Saturday had been disrupted. She had intended to take a high-speed train from Ebbsfleet International to London St Pancras International but unfortunately, all services were cancelled due to flooding in a tunnel beneath the Thames.

The disturbance caused a lot of trouble. Passengers got stranded, their plans for New Year's Eve were ruined, and they had to find other ways to get to their destinations, which cost them money. At the train station, there were hundreds of suitcases cluttering up the walkways, people had to stand because the seating areas were full, children were upset and there were lots of announcements apologizing for the inconvenience.

Deurloo's partner departed for Portugal last Saturday morning, leaving her with an unexpected free day. Despite this, she intends to embrace the situation and arrange a hotel stay to enjoy the day. She acknowledges that this is an unavoidable circumstance, but plans to take advantage of it by exploring the city further - a positive outcome from an unexpected scenario.

At 5:40am, Rupert Laing, a 37-year-old man, got onto a train from Edinburgh to London. He was travelling to Limoges, France to celebrate New Year's Eve with his fiance. However, when he arrived at St Pancras train station, he found out that the train he was supposed to take to Paris was cancelled.

"I'm feeling a bit uncertain right now," he expressed. "The situation is difficult and causing some annoyance." Consequently, Laing had to rush to catch a flight at the airport.

Managing kids while travelling can be quite a task for voyagers. Amin Kabbani, 40, who resides in Saudi Arabia, was on a trip to London and Amsterdam with his partner and their little one, who is five years old. To keep his child engaged, he got him a soccer magazine from a store within the station. Kabbani added that he was attempting to tempt his child with presents from Hamleys.

Nick Thompson, a 41-year-old man residing in Washington, DC, traveled to London along with his wife, Chelsea, and their two kids who are five and seven years old. According to Nick, his children seemed to be handling the trip well, even better than him. During their trip, Nick's son sported a Paris Saint-Germain jersey and the family had hoped to take a tour of the stadium on Saturday.

Thompson had to spend a lot of money because of the flooded line. He mentioned that he had to pay £2,800 for a private car to reach Paris through a different route. He added that it was important for them to reach there. His family had already planned to visit the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and enjoy a dinner on Sunday. They were looking forward to making the most out of their new year break. Thompson expressed his disappointment and hope that they will be able to resolve the issue and proceed with their plans.

Pearl Vaughan, a thirty-three-year-old residing in Le Havre, France, travelled to London with her folks and partner, Johan Roussel, aged thirty-one, on Christmas Eve. They had intended to return home on Saturday to enjoy the New Year's Eve festivities with their pals. Unfortunately, their train's departure was uncertain, leaving them in limbo.

"This is a disaster," Pearl exclaimed. They were worried about not catching their next train from Paris to Le Havre and the possibility of being stuck in London for New Year's Eve since all available flights and other ways to get to France were fully booked.

Herman Mellema, a 30-year-old man from Amsterdam, travelled to London with his partner. They decided to use the train instead of flying in order to reduce their carbon footprint. However, their travel plans were disrupted when their train was cancelled. As a result, they had to consider taking a flight instead. Mellema expressed regret for not leaving on Friday, as he believed that bad luck had led to the disruption in their travel plans.

"It's a shame, but we won't continue to be sulky here."