Eurostar cancellations chaos after another French power outage
SNCF, the French high-speed train operator, urged travellers to postpone their journeys if possible.
'Passengers can exchange their tickets free of charge or request a full refund,' a Eurostar spokesman said, adding that the London-Amsterdam, London-Brussels and Brussels-Amsterdam routes were unaffected by the disruption.
SNCF said the disruption was caused by a power outage near Moussy, around 30 miles north of Paris, at around 8.30am and was expected to last until late evening as 'major repairs' were required.
The disruption affects one of Europe's busiest international rail corridors at the height of the summer travel season.
The incident is just the latest to affect Eurostar and other French rail services.
In June, nearly half a mile of cables were 'stolen or severed' south of Lille, causing Eurostar cancellations.
Passengers described being sat on stationary trains for hours before returning to Paris and having to sleep at Gare du Nord.
Photos showed large queues at both railway stations, while stranded passengers demanded refunds on social media.
One passenger attempting the journey from Paris to London wrote on X: '3pm check-in, sit on train for nearly six hours (all food runs out etc), finally go back to Gare du Nord and 1,000 passengers dumped in Paris with no hotels (cheapest room €2000 and they refund only up to €300). Disastrous.'
In July, passengers were stranded for several hours after a Eurostar train broke down.
Footage on social media showed passengers walking next to the tracks after a London-bound train from Brussels stopped between Lille and Calais in northern France because of a power failure.
The doors were opened and water handed out to passengers, a Eurostar spokesman confirmed, but four hours into the wait, passengers were escorted off the train.
Passengers had left Brussels at 8.52am local time and were due to arrive in London at 9.57am.
A replacement train was sent from London, but was delayed by more than three hours, arriving at 4.45pm.
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