Eurostar journeys between London and Paris have descended into “chaos” after a cable theft caused even more delays and cancellations to services already disrupted by two deaths on the tracks. The railway company has warned passengers travelling from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord to expect “severe delays and last-minute cancellations” and advised them to “cancel or postpone their trips” after a cable theft near Lille in northern France on Wednesday morning. The major uncertainty, described by the firm itself as “total chaos”, follows long delays on Tuesday night after two people were struck by trains near Lille Europe, a stop on the direct Eurostar service between St Pancras and Paris.
The 7.01am train from St Pancras is now scheduled to arrive in Paris an hour late at 11.22am and the 7.56am service will arrive in France over two hours later than planned, at 10:17am. Eurostar trains scheduled to travel between London and Paris at 7.12am, 8.01am, 8.42am, 10.31am and 11.12am have already been cancelled.
One customer complained to the provider that their elderly mother was stuck in Paris because of the last-minute cancellations, to which Eurostar apologised for the “total chaos due to two accidents involving people and a cable theft”.
Frustrated passengers have also taken to social media to complain about the delays, which began shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.
“I’m going to need my full ticket refunded and compensation,” one person wrote on X. “I’ve been stuck on this train for five hours and there will now be another three hour delay.”
Another Brit travelling from Paris said: “This was handled poorly, little communication, bad announcements for those of us stuck on trains with no food as sold out, no running water and a bad website to file a claim.
“I will never use this service again after the poor communication and experience.“
The UK Foreign Office has updated its advice for British citizens planning to travel to and from France on the Eurostar, warning of “severe disruption”.
“Eurostar services to and from France will be severely disrupted today [June 25] with some services cancelled,” the ministry said.
“Check your operator’s advice before travelling, including where you are taking connecting trains.”
