Flooded tunnels force cancelation of Eurostar trains linking UK to Europe

By Niamh Kennedy, CNN

London (CNN) — Flooded railway tunnels forced the cancelation of all services on Saturday linking Britain to Europe, operator Eurostar said.

Travelers hoping to journey from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam for New Year were dealt a blow after Eurostar announced in a social media post the cancellation of services due to “part of the track being temporarily closed near London.”

The track was closed due to the flooding of railway tunnels near the Ebbsfleet International station in Kent, southern England.

“I am just devastated. I’ve just had a little cry. I just want to get home. It’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow,” 23-year-old Alina told AFP, who was hoping to travel home to Amsterdam from London.

Sander Blom, 64, from Amsterdam described the situation as “kind of chaos.” Blom seemed intent on making the most of the setback however, saying that he would enjoy staying in a few extra days in London despite the fact it “cost a lot of money.”

UK train operator, Southwestern Railways said it was also cancelling its high-speed services to and from London’s St Pancras International station.

It is the second time Eurostar services have been hit over Christmas, after a last-minute strike earlier in December caused major disruption.

The latest cancelations come as the UK braces itself for a bout of severe weather, with heavy snow and rain expected.

The UK’s Meteorological Office issued yellow weather warnings for swathes of the country for Saturday.

In southern England, a “spell of strong and gusty winds will move east across England and Wales, bringing some disruption to travel and services,” the warning said. Short term losses of power are also possible, the Met Office warned.

Gusts of 45-50 mph of wind will blow widely across affected parts of southern England and Wales with the strongest gusts forecast for coastal areas. The warning added that 20-30mm of rain is predicted to fall widely across Wales during the “spell of heavy rain and strong winds.”

Most of Scotland has been placed under a rain and snow yellow warning, with meteorologists predicting some “disruption” will be caused by the “period of sleet and snow, turning to rain” forecast for Saturday.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.