Thousands stranded at New Year as Eurostar cancelled

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The cancellation of Eurostar services to and from London St Pancras has caused major disruptions for thousands of people planning their New Year's travels. The reason for this is due to flooding in a tunnel located under the River Thames.

Numerous distressed travelers are presently stuck in London and Paris, struggling to modify their New Year's Eve agendas and locate alternate routes of transportation.

A few individuals had to deal with the burden of paying for high-priced lodging or costly flights.

It is not yet specified by Eurostar if they will recommence their services by Sunday.

However, the track operator HS1 stated that the issues will require a significant amount of time to be resolved.

In the flooded tunnel, a video was recorded showing water surging onto the railway tracks via a pipe that is fixed to the wall of the tunnel.

Thames Water suggested that the flooding was possibly caused by a "fire control system" and not by any of its own pipelines.

All the rapid services from Southeastern to Ebbsfleet were cancelled because they use the same railway line.

The Southeastern railway video demonstrates water surging from a conduit into the tunnel.

Eurostar, a train company that operates routes from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, has stated that customers who have been impacted by disruptions can receive a complete reimbursement or swap for their travels.

On Saturday, St Pancras was packed with travelers who were feeling let down. They were seen sitting on their luggage, scrambling to figure out other possible routes for their journey.

Two women named Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benyamin, 26, who are from Sydney, had their train trip cancelled after they traveled on a budget across Europe for three weeks.

They decided to make their last stop in Paris extravagant by splurging on a pricey hotel that overlooks the beautiful Eiffel Tower, all for the purpose of celebrating New Year's Eve. After the celebration is over, they plan to head back home.

Ms Benyamin expressed her desire to witness the magnificent city of Paris in its illuminated state, but is now experiencing a sense of annoyance and fury.

Her friend, Ms David, shared that there was an abundance of individuals shedding tears. They were uncertain of their destination and lacked a place to rest.

There were comparable tales from the other side of the body of water.

Curt Downs, along with his wife Megan and their one-year-old son, were stranded with many others at Gare Du Nord station in Paris due to the cancellation of their train.

He informed BBC News that the Eurostar team was overly swamped and didn't have any useful recommendations for us.

A team member informed the group that they needed to help 4,000 travelers. Unfortunately, there were no more available flights from Paris or ferries from Calais.

According to Mr. Downs, his family invested two hours in search of options to make their way back to the UK, exploring various alternatives, including ferries, car rental, and flights.

They were able to secure a few of the remaining spots on a £450 flight from Paris to Manchester. Upon arrival, Mrs. Downs' mother is driving them home to Bedfordshire, a journey that will take around five hours.

Credit for the image goes to Curt Downs.

Megan Downs and her little child were traveling by train to get to the airport in Paris, but unfortunately, they had to change their plans because the Eurostar service was not available.

Joshua Parisutham, a 31-year-old man from Harrow in London, told BBC News that at St Pancras, some people were giving away their tickets to those who were feeling particularly upset or had an urgent need to travel. This was before it was confirmed that all services had been cancelled.

A male individual was spotted walking aimlessly around the train station holding onto an iPad, repeatedly uttering the phrase "I need a taxi to Paris".

Eurostar travellers who found themselves stuck were notified by the Port of Dover at 5:30 in the evening on Saturday that there were no more slots for pedestrians left for the day.

The company HS1 is in charge of the track and has stated that their engineers worked continuously throughout the night in an effort to remove the water. However, even with their efforts, the amount of water present was beyond anything they had experienced before. This continued into the morning of Saturday.

The company mentioned that pumps and tankers have been brought to the location to decrease the water levels. They also expressed regret for any trouble caused.

On Saturday evening, a member of the HS1 team stated that they are working very hard to fix the issue and bring back the services. However, this has been a difficult task and it will require more time to complete.

Eurostar services have been majorly disrupted for the second time in just a span of 10 days. This time, it was due to French workers going on a "last-minute strike," which caused trains to come to a halt just before Christmas.

Additionally, there is significant disturbance on Thameslink transportation - which operates through the capital and across the south-eastern region of the country - and a limited provision on Northern Rail, which serves the northern part of England, due to inadequate personnel.

The railway track connecting Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales has been shut down until further notice as a result of extreme weather conditions. Additionally, there has been widespread flooding in the Swansea area, prompting the cancellation of all train routes between Swansea and Shrewsbury.

Network Rail Scotland has informed that there are speed limitations enforced on the West Highland Line until 09:00 on Sunday as per the weather forecast. Due to the presence of snow on the runway, some flights at Glasgow Airport were also postponed.

Large areas across the UK have been put under a yellow alert by the Met Office due to expected wind, rain, and snow.

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