Passengers have had their New Year’s Eve plans thrown into disarray after hundreds of trains were cancelled across the country – and Eurostar chaos ran into a second day.
Flooding and staff shortages led to train services being scrapped or delayed, with warnings the disruption could get worse due to more severe weather.
It came as tens of thousands of Eurostar customers – whose trains had been cancelled on Saturday due to tunnel flooding – faced further mayhem as the company was unable to lay on any extra services, despite trains resuming on Sunday morning.
Although both tunnels were operational again, the travel chaos spilled over, with up to 36,000 backlogged customers battling to get a seat on one of the Sunday trains, many of which were already sold out.
Passengers waited on the concourse at the entrance to Eurostar in St Pancras International station on Saturday
(PA Wire)
As the first Eurostar train left London St Pancras International shortly after 8am bound for Paris, some passengers were queuing at the station to try and book tickets.
Maes Bert and Lievens Nele, both 45, were in a large queue for tickets, hoping to get spaces on a train home to Brussels on Sunday so they can enjoy the New Year countdown with their two daughters after their train on Saturday was cancelled.
Ms Bert said: “Our tickets was cancelled yesterday so if you want a new ticket you have to queue here and hope you get one, and I hope we are getting home today, but it’s not sure there are tickets, so we have to wait and wait and wait, but it’s not going further, it takes a long time.”
Maes Bert, 45 and her partner Lievens Nele, 45, from Brussels, who are hoping to get home to their daughter in time for New Year
(Lucas Cumiskey/PA Wire)
He said they had been queuing for about half an hour, adding: “Yesterday you can (re-)book your tickets but all was booked for today, but now they said there are coming more places for a train, so now we hope there is a place for two persons, and otherwise it’s tomorrow, but then we are not home for the holidays. Our two children are home.”
French national Emilio Fernandez, 22, also returned to the station on Sunday with his parents, sister and four-year-old nephew Amani.
He said: “We were supposed to leave late (on Saturday) but it was cancelled in the afternoon. We were very worried because first it’s…
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