
Eurostar passengers see dozens of train services cancelled or delayed
Eurostar passengers saw up to two dozen services between Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam and London cancelled or delayed on Wednesday.
As some trains ground to a halt, a passenger on a train in France claimed the electricity had been cut off, leaving travellers with no air conditioning for more than half an hour.
A Eurostar spokesperson told The Independent: 'Eurostar services between London and Paris were delayed by one to two hours following an incident on the LGV Nord high-speed line this morning, where a person was struck by a TGV train.
'We are working closely with the French authorities and infrastructure teams to manage the impact and keep services moving. Customers were contacted directly with updates and options and asked not to arrive at the station early to help ease congestion.'
They added the air conditioning is a separate issue which is being investigated.
One passenger said, according to The Telegraph: 'Eurostar train stuck for over half an hour now. Ventilation cut off, no communication for a quarter of an hour... it's starting to get hot, passengers are getting impatient.
''We're waiting for information from our driver. 'We apologise for the inconvenience' – but still no ventilation. It's getting hotter and hotter.'
Eurostar's travel updates page displayed a list of delays and cancellations starting around 7am, although problems had started on Monday.
Some services on Thursday and in August were also displayed as already being cancelled.
Other services missed out stops, such as the 7.26pm Brussels to London St Pancras, which did not stop at Lille.
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Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Forget croissants — the best Parisian grub is doner kebabs and mashed potato
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Although the sugary macarons of the 8th arrondissement should get an honourable mention, especially after Newens' wonderful description of the evolution of dessert in the region as 'a single continuous episode of Come Dine with Me played out over more than 50 years.' • Read more book reviews and interviews — and see what's top of the Sunday Times Bestsellers List Far more than a map of the city's most significant culinary markers, Moveable Feasts is a portrait of a place told through those who live there, the 'nicotine-pickled locals' who may have started life elsewhere but now make their living by sifting flour and sharpening knives, from a Peruvian marine biologist retraining at the world-famous Cordon Bleu cookery school to a nearly-80-year-old market seller who 'looked a little like a garden gnome' and deserves 'a chest full of medals' for the hard grind he puts in before dawn each morning. It's a thoroughly entertaining (and seriously hunger-inducing) book that will make the Eurostar marketing team squeal with joy. Et voilà. Moveable Feasts: Paris in Twenty Meals by Chris Newens (Profile £18.99 pp368). To order a copy go to Free UK standard P&P on online orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members


The Sun
16 hours ago
- The Sun
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The Independent
18 hours ago
- The Independent
Extreme heatwave hits Europe as temperatures set to soar above 40C in holiday hotspots
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"We're telling people to leave their homes," local town councilor Apostolos Papadakis said on Greece's state-run ERT television. A work stoppage was declared for certain workers including delivery riders on Friday by the Ministry of Labor for Friday afternoon with temperatures set to reach 41C, Greek newspaper Ta Nea reported. Several popular tourist destinations in Italy are expected to swelter through prolonged stretches of temperatures in the high 30s. In Rome, daytime highs won't dip below 37C until Thursday, according to Il Meteo, while temperatures in Florence will alternate between 38C and 39C from Monday. Naples will also reach highs of 37C on Saturday and Monday, while in the northeast, Venice will reach 36C on Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures in other Italian destinations are forecast to be milder, reaching the mid-30s for Naples and high 20s for Bari in Puglia over the weekend. As the heatwave moves north through next week, weather experts warn temperatures in parts of Germany could near 40C by Wednesday. 'Up to 40 degrees Celsius is possible by the middle of next week,' Dr Karsten said. The forecasting site predicts the heat to remain above 30C for five days and above 35C for three during the upcoming German heatwave. Frankfurt is expected to reach 38C on Wednesday, while in Berlin temperatures will reach 35C.