Eurostar services return to normal after major Channel Tunnel disruption

After a major travel disruption on Tuesday, Eurostar and Le Shuttle services between the United Kingdom and France have reopened through the Channel Tunnel. Thousands of passengers experienced hours of delays after Eurostar cancelled most of its London to Europe services due to an overhead power supply issue and a failed Le Shuttle train that blocked all routes. In both directions, repair work and rail services in the tunnel were restored on Wednesday morning. However, Eurostar urged passengers to check before flying, in case of possible knock-on delays and last-minute cancellations.

The bulk of Eurostar's Wednesday morning services in and out of London St Pancras have been canceled. According to Eurostar's website, only three shipments destined for Paris Gare du Nord; another destined to Brussels Midi and the other bound for Amsterdam Centraal have been cancelled. Any passengers' discomfort was apologized for by the high-speed rail company.

We want to operate all of our services today today,

Eurostar said, although there could still be delays and potential last-minute cancellations.

Customers are urged to check for live updates on their train status on the Eurostar website. One extra London-to-Paris ticket service will run on Wednesday, and passengers are entitled to

enhanced compensation" that includes 100% refund of their ticket and 150% of their admission price as an e-voucher, according to Eurostar. Following earlier cancellations, Le Shuttle services from Folkestone are running as expected. However, there are still delays of an hour in Calais, although down from the earlier reported six hours.

Both Eurostar and Le Shuttle vehicle carriages between the United Kingdom and France can be carried by the Channel Tunnel. Getlink, the Channel Tunnel operator, said that night work to resolve the power issue continued throughout the night. On Tuesday, the overhead power supply and the broken down Le Shuttle train blocked all routes. As the majority of Eurostar trains from London to Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels were cancelled, it caused travel disruption for thousands of people trying to get away for New Year's Eve.

Following Tuesday's power outage, images of massive crowds of tourists trapped at London St Pancras International flooded social media. Near Le Shuttle's Terminal in Folkestone, traffic jams were created by cars attempting to use the Channel Tunnel. On Tuesday evening, several Eurostar and Le Shuttle services were scheduled to resume, but delays remained, as only one of the Channel Tunnel's two rail lines was operating. Nevertheless, several passengers were trapped on board trains overnight.

Dennis Van Der Steen boarded a train for Amsterdam, which arrived in London at 20:49 on Tuesday. However, it came to a halt before the train reached the Eurostar tunnel. The service returned to London after a six-hour wait at the tunnel entrance. Some passengers who were dissatisfied with their New Year's Eve plans resorted to innovative ways to make their New Years' Eve plans. Floriaen Dullaert, who had been planning to travel from Amsterdam to London, bought a bicycle in Brussels for €20 and rode a train to Dunkirk, where she boarded a late-night ferry to Dover.