New Year's Eve travel hell to continue with families devastated at St Pancras after flooded tunnels

30 December 2023, 13:03 | Updated: 30 December 2023, 23:05

Eurostar passengers were left "in tears" as thousands were stranded after all trains were cancelled due to a flooded tunnel on Saturday.

The operator said late on Saturday that the "unprecedented" flooding has been brought under control meaning "at least one tunnel can now be used", but warned customers to expect further delays and busy stations.

Travellers hoping to get away for their New Year's celebrations told of their "cancelled" plans in Paris, "ruined" trips to Disneyland and skiing trips in jeopardy.

Eurostar cancelled all services to and from St Pancras until the end of the day due to a tunnel under the Thames flooding.

London St Pancras International on Saturday morning saw crestfallen travellers sitting on suitcases in the concourse, as people could be heard frantically trying to find alternative routes to their destinations.

Travel expert Simon Calder said he had spoken to families "in tears because their trip to Disney has been cancelled".

Read more: New Year's Eve weather chaos: Snow, 75mph winds and rain set to sweep UK as revellers told 'do not travel'

Read more: New Year's Eve terrorism fears in France amid Israel-Hamas war, as 90,000 police officers on duty

Newlyweds Nicole Carrera, 29, and her husband Christopher, 31, said their plans to spend New Year's Eve at Disneyland Paris had been "ruined" due to the travel disruption.

"So we've been in London since Wednesday and we wanted to leave today because we were actually supposed to go to Disney Paris tomorrow for New Year's Eve," Ms Carrera said.

"So obviously those plans our ruined because now we won't get into Paris tomorrow until about 6pm. So we're just going to walk around the city (Paris) tomorrow when we get there and finally get to our hotel. It's just one of those things."

Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benyamin, 26, from Sydney, Australia, were also stranded at St Pancras.

They have been travelling in Europe for almost a month and the final stop in their trip is Paris, where they hoped to spend New Year's Eve before flying home on January 7.

The pair had "travelled Europe on a budget" before splashing out on an "expensive hotel with an Eiffel Tower view" for the final leg of their trip.

Simon Shaw, 36, and his wife Heather, 37, from Derbyshire, are travelling in a party of eight, comprised of their wider family and their son, eight, and daughter, five, hoping to reach the French Alps for a skiing holiday.

Mr Shaw said: "We just arrived and saw everything was cancelled this morning, got here at 7am and it was chaos so we don't know what's happening. We will get there one way or another.

"We have done this a couple of times, just us and the kids, and it has been really efficient, really smooth, and today we've brought extended family with us and it's all gone to pot. It's just frustrating."

He said "these things can't be helped" but feels "a little bit anxious on when we are going to get moving".

Customers also shared their fury online after arriving to be told they would not be able to make their journey.

One person said she got up at 3.40am to get the Eurostar but was back home again before 7.30am due to the cancellations.

Another person tweeted: "No communication and no possibility to rebook! (Travelling from Paris to London)"

In an update posted on its website, Eurostar said passengers could either reschedule their bookings free of charge or cancel and receive a credit note or refund.

A spokesperson said: "Eurostar has been made aware by Network Rail that flooding in the tunnels between St Pancras international and Ebbsfleet has not improved and train services are unable to operate.

"Eurostar has therefore had to take the unfortunate decision to cancel all services for the rest of the day. This is a total of 41 trains.

"Eurostar is extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues affecting customers today but safety remains our number one priority.

"We understand this is a vital time to get home at the end of the festive season and ahead of New Year and we are supporting customers in stations.

"Customers affected are encouraged to visit the website to find out what compensation they can receive.

"Network Rail is continuing to keep Eurostar updated regarding how the situation continues to evolve ahead of tomorrow.

"We will be in direct contact with customers due to travel to keep them updated."

Meanwhile, Southeastern Railway said no services would run on Saturday at St Pancras International, Stratford International or Ebbsfleet International.

Thameslink is also facing disruption due to staff shortages. It told passengers to expect delays throughout Saturday and cancellations on Sunday.

Windy conditions will sweep across the UK on Saturday, according to the Met Office, with northern areas of Scotland likely to see "significant snow".

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said "a touch of frost is likely" overnight into Saturday and there is a deep area of low pressure waiting out in the Atlantic that is going to sweep its way across the UK this weekend.

"Towards the far east of Scotland, particularly Shetland, it is going to be a windy picture with frequent showers," he said.

Some frost is "possible" in the south, particularly towards the east, while "a more widespread harsh frost" is expected in some parts of Scotland.

Temperatures could tumble "as low as minus 8C or minus 9, perhaps a little bit colder than that," he added.

Some heavy rain is also likely across the west of Northern Ireland on Saturday morning before wet and windy conditions push east and north eastwards.

Mr Burkill added: "As that rain hits the cold air across Scotland, I am expecting some significant snow, particularly over higher ground we could see in excess of 10cm of snow lying and, even to lower levels, some slushy snow is possible. This could cause some problems particularly on the roads.

"Elsewhere it is the rain and the strong winds we need to watch out for.

"Heavy rain across parts of Wales and strong gales likely around southern, south-western coastal parts in particular - so a pretty unsettled day."

Mr Burkill said: "In the south it is going to be relatively mild with highs of around 11C or 12C but with the wind, the rain and the cloud it will be feeling feel pretty unpleasant at times and colder further north, with temperatures here suppressed into mid-single figures.

"Later on Saturday we are going to see the rain and the snow across Scotland, or at least the worst of it, clearing away towards the north east and also that band of rain further south pushing eastwards across parts of England could still be pretty heavy at times - so watch out for that."