Eurostar Chaos: Flooded tunnel strands thousands (Image: Getty)
New Year plans were thrown into turmoil yesterday after a flooded tunnel brought the Eurostar to a halt, leaving thousands of holiday travellers stranded.
The cross-Channel rail company said it was “extremely sorry” about the chaos at London’s St Pancras station after “unprecedented” levels of water poured on to tracks beneath the Thames.
The flooding is believed to have been caused by a burst pipe feeding the tunnel’s fire safety system.
Thousands of passengers were left stranded after all Eurostar services had to be cancelled.
One disgruntled traveller said she had seen “lots of people crying” at the packed rail terminal after the flooding near Ebbsfleet, Kent.
Emotional travellers sat on suitcases as people could be heard frantically trying to find alternative routes.
Two New York newlyweds who planned to spend last night at Disneyland Paris were among those hit. Nicole Carrera, 29, and 31-year-old husband Christopher were forced to rebook their Eurostar to Paris yesterday to 2.30pm today.
Ms Carrera, who works for cosmetics firm L’Oreal, said: “We planned this trip because we’ve always wanted to come to London/Paris. We go to Disney in the States all the time so we were like, we might as well go while we’re there, what better way to celebrate New Year.”
“Obviously those plans are ruined because now we won’t get into Paris tomorrow until about 6pm.”
Luana Andrade, 36, her husband Rondi Oroujo, 32, and their three-year-old son, who live in Dublin, were stranded with Mr Oroujo’s six visiting relatives from Brazil.
They were unable to rebook for a journey to Paris today as any available seats were quickly snapped up by other passengers.
Ms Andrade said they are “trying not to be homeless with children in the cold London night”.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
“Our problem is to get a night to sleep because London is really expensive and we don’t have an Airbnb to stay at tonight,” she said.
Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benyamin, 26, from Sydney, Australia, have been travelling in Europe for about three weeks. Their final stop is Paris, before they fly home next Sunday.
Ms David said: “We travelled on a budget and then once we hit New Year’s we’re going to watch Paris light up. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’m going to cry.”
She added: “There were lots of people crying.”
READ MORE Adorable abandoned pair of dachshunds looking for a home this New Year
And railway worker Matthew Hulls was left “devastated” and forced to head home after a surprise trip to Cologne was cancelled.
The 40-year-old from Colchester had booked his partner a VIP ticket to a hockey game today.
He said: “I had to work over Christmas, so had some special plans to compensate for that with my partner, but now it’ll be attempts to get refunds, if at all possible.”
Passengers in Paris were also suffering. Chris Dillashaw, from Texas, was looking forward to New Year in London after Christmas in Paris.
Speaking from the city’s Gare de Nord he said: “Our entire family is here. It’s pretty disappointing to find out via an email what happened.”
A Eurostar spokesman said the company was “extremely sorry for the unforeseen issues”.
“We understand this is a vital time to get home at the end of the festive season and ahead of New Year.”
HS1, which operates the track, said engineers had worked through Friday night to remove water but the volume was “unprecedented”.
A spokeswoman said: “We understand how frustrating this is for passengers and apologise.”
Luana Andrade, 36, her husband Rondi Oroujo, 32, and their three-year-old son, who live in Dublin, were marooned at London’s St Pancras International along with his six visiting relatives from Brazil
They had planned to spend New Year’s Eve and day in Paris before heading to Disneyland Paris on Tuesday, but their outbound train was cancelled and they said there is no availability to reschedule for Sunday.
Ms Andrade said they are “trying not to be homeless with children in the cold London night”, adding: “Our problem is to get a night to sleep because London is really expensive and we don’t have an Airbnb to stay at tonight.
“The main problem is where are we going to stay with the kids, then we figure out tomorrow.”
