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A power outage in the Channel tunnel has disrupted thousands of journeys ahead of the New Year celebrations, with all passenger and vehicle trains suspended for several hours while engineers raced to repair the fault.
As Eurostar foot passenger departures for the continent were first delayed, then cancelled, the halls of St Pancras international station in London filled with stranded travellers awaiting updates. At Folkestone, tailbacks formed as drivers hoping to catch the shuttle faced seven-hour delays.
By Tuesday evening, engineers were still struggling to restore full service, with Channel tunnel operator Getlink saying trains were running on only one of the tunnel’s two tracks, travelling in alternate directions.
The technical glitch began on Monday night, according to Getlink, with “an incident related to the power supply to trains”.
In statements on Tuesday morning, Eurostar indicated the outage led to the failure of a train operated by Le Shuttle, which carries cars and freight vehicles through the tunnel. It said the train was eventually moved out of the tunnel.
At St Pancras, Jack Slater and his girlfriend were left with no choice but to cancel a new year’s trip to Paris, a treat they had been planning since the summer.
“We’re being advised to re-book for tomorrow, but all of the trains are fully booked already so the only option would be to upgrade to a first class seat – which is an extra lot of money,” he told the Guardian.
Matt Orien had come from Seattle in the US with his family, hoping to make it to Paris after spending a few days in London. “This is disappointing, but we have a friend who is helping us out with admin so we’ll hopefully have a way to get there,” he said. “We’re doing OK and we’ll find a way to have fun … we feel sorry for the people that are stuck in the train, in the tunnel.”
Betty Ndukaeze, travelling in a family group, was hoping to reach Paris to celebrate. The journey started with a delay, with their 7.01 train leaving an hour late, before coming to a halt. After a long wait, they were sent back to St Pancras, she told the BBC.
“It was chaos from the moment we got here,” said Ndukaeze. “They kept announcing there was a problem with the train ahead of us and saying they were trying to fix the problem.
“We just got back here. The journey back from where we were stuck was only 20 minutes.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Eurostar said it would resume services to and from London at about 6pm, but it “strongly” advised passengers to postpone their journeys. Live service updates showed all departures for Paris on 30 December as cancelled, other than two trains at 18.01 and 19.01. In the other direction, only the 18.12 and 19.12 trains were listed as scheduled to depart for London.
“As the overhead power supply issues in the Channel tunnel still remain, only one line is available to run trains on,” the operator said. “This means there will continue to be delays and longer journey times than usual this evening. Therefore we continue to advise our customers to rebook their journey for another day if possible, with free exchanges available.
“We also advise customers not to come to our stations if their trains have been already been cancelled.”
A photograph shared by a driver with the BBC showed overhead electrical cables strewn across the tracks.
Eurostar, which carries foot passengers, and Le Shuttle, which carries vehicles and is owned by Getlink, share the tunnel’s two tracks, which normally run only in one direction.
Between them, the services transport thousands of passengers a day over the Christmas period.
In an update sent out at 3pm on Tuesday, Getlink said the shuttle service had “resumed very gradually on one track shortly before 3pm CET [2pm GMT]” and that trains were running “alternately in both directions with significant delays”.
Additional shuttles would be added from Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning, while waiting times will be adjusted throughout the day, it said. Live updates for the shuttle warned passengers: “Delay of approximately six hours to booked time, please check in as planned.”
At Folkstone, the terminus for the shuttle, drivers trapped in lines of cars waiting to board shared their frustration on social media. “About to board our 08.25 departure, due out at 15.05!!!” said Spike on X, suggesting some vehicles faced a seven-hour delay.
Kate from Woking said that drivers at Folkestone were given food vouchers, playing cards and crisps. “Staff at the terminal were doing their best but they couldn’t promise much.”
Stephanie Roberts, from Ashford, was returning home after a two-week holiday in Le Touquet, with her husband, Simon and their 18-month-old French bulldog, Dempsey.
“We began queueing in Calais in the Eurotunnel at 10.30am French time,” she says. “In the end, we were waiting for more than five hours before we were able to board a train.
“There was no food or water, but luckily we had brought a baguette with us, so we were able to munch on that. We bought a small bottle of water from a vending machine for €3 for Dempsey. The price is not the issue, it’s the principle.”
Some UK drivers with later trains said they had diverted to Dover to take the ferry instead.
The Port of Dover urged stranded drivers to consider switching to travel by sea, saying operators running between Dover and Calais had capacity for extra passengers.
The east coast mainline train company LNER responded by offering passengers a free ride home. It said that “any customers who have had to abandon their journey in London King’s Cross are able to return to their home station on the next available LNER service at no additional cost”.
LNER customers who choose to defer their Eurostar travel to a different day may use their existing LNER ticket to travel on that same day, it added.
Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, said: “Those who have had their train cancelled have the option to exchange their booking or claim a refund or Eurostar e-voucher. For delays, travellers are entitled to compensation.
“If you are delayed overnight, you have the right to be put up in a hotel or be reimbursed for one,.”
Eurostar said customers could exchange their unused ticket for another date in the same travel class, receive a refund, or an e-voucher valid for 12 months. Stranded passengers can also claim hotel accommodation of up to £150 per room, along with £50 for taxi costs and £35 for food and drink expenses.
