Eurostar cancellations continue after cables stolen from track

Telegraph

5 days ago

Eurostar has been hit with further delays after nearly half a mile of cables were vandalised in northern France.
The country's railway operator said more than 600 metres of line had been 'stolen or severed' south of Lille.
Six trips between London and Paris – three in each direction – had been cancelled on Wednesday morning, as well as delays to Brussels-bound trains.
SNCF, in charge of France's high-speed rail service, has sent more than a dozen workers to the area to solve the issue.
Juliette Clement, the company's spokesman, said: 'Trains are being redirected via secondary routes, which increases travel times.
' Eurostar advises those who were supposed to travel today to postpone their trip, with free exchanges and refunds available.'
Passengers were left stranded for hours on Tuesday and Wednesday morning after two people were struck by trains in separate incidents between Lille and Paris.
Journeys were significantly delayed or cancelled in both directions between London St Pancras International and Gare Du Nord in Paris on Tuesday evening.
Three trains were also cancelled on Wednesday.
Passengers described being sat on stationary trains for hours before returning to Paris and having to sleep at Gare du Nord. Photos showed large queues at both railway stations, while stranded passengers demanded refunds on social media.
One passenger attempting the journey from Paris to London wrote on X: '3pm check-in, sit on train for nearly six hours (all food runs out etc), finally go back to Gare du Nord and 1,000 passengers dumped in Paris with no hotels (cheapest room €2000 and they refund only up to €300). Disastrous.'
French media reported that the first incident took place between Lille and Paris at around 5pm. The second occurred between Lille and Arras, ICI France reported.
In an update on Wednesday morning, Eurostar warned its customers to expect 'difficult' travel conditions with crowded carriages, delays and several cancellations.
Responding to a passenger's query on X, the operator said to 'expect delays' from backlogs after train sets never made it to their destination.
'Also trains will be crowded with passengers from all the cancelled trains yesterday.'
You can expect delays, and some trains will be cancelled because some trainsets never made it to their destination to ensure a departure the next day. Also trains will be crowded with passengers from all the cancelled trains yesterday.
— Eurostar (@Eurostar) June 25, 2025
One train leaving London at 2.31pm on Tuesday was supposed to arrive in Paris at 5.57pm but was delayed for four hours and was not expected to get there until almost 10pm.
Millie Race said in a post on X: 'Hey, we have been on the ES 9032 from London to Paris for seven hours; still stopped and not sure when we will be able to make it to Paris. Will we be able to get full compensation for our journey?'
Naomi Sanger, from Snodland, told Kent Online she boarded the 4.31pm at Gare Du Nord but it never departed. She has been left stranded at the station.
She wrote: 'The supplies of food and drinks are running out, air con is not working, coffee machine broken as is the card machine! Total joke.'
And for the passengers stuck at Garde Du Nord on the trains, the supplies of food and drinks are running out, air con is not working, coffee machine broken as is the card machine!! Total joke
— Naomi (@naomisanger) June 24, 2025
It is the second time in less than a week that Eurostar services have been disrupted after a person was struck by a train.
On June 18, a dozen Eurostar trains from London to Paris were delayed or cancelled after a person was hit on tracks in France.