Latest news with #cabletheft
Times
02-07-2025
- Times
Eurostar disruption 2025: what to do if your train is delayed or cancelled
Eurostar trains have been both cancelled and significantly delayed between London St Pancras International and Gare du Nord following two fatalities between Lille and Paris on Tuesday, June 24. Passengers were stranded in both cities after trains were cancelled on Wednesday, June 25. In an update posted on X, Eurostar said: 'You can expect delays, and some trains will be cancelled because some trainsets never made it to their destination to ensure a departure the next day. Also trains will be crowded with passengers from all the cancelled trains yesterday.' In addition, the theft of over 600m of cables near Lille overnight on Tuesday, June 24 has caused further last-minute cancellations. Here's what you need to know. Delays and cancellations have been reported both on departures between London and Paris and on routes to Brussels and Amsterdam, with some trains being rerouted onto conventional tracks. • Eurostar guide: everything you need to know before you travel Unfortunately there's little you can do if your Eurostar service is cancelled beyond changing your ticket to a different time and/or date, or getting a refund for your fare. This includes onward trains booked through Eurostar. Unlike airlines, train companies are not required to pay compensation for delays or cancellations. If you've been left out of pocket — for example, if you missed trains not booked through Eurostar — check your travel insurance policy. You may be able to get some money back that way. • Travel insurance guide: everything you need to know
ABC News
25-06-2025
- ABC News
French cable theft disrupts Eurostar trips between London and Paris
More than 600 metres of cable along train tracks has been stolen in northern France, wrecking havoc for Eurostar trips between London and Paris. French railway operator, SNCF, said "more than 600 metres of cable were stolen or severed south of the Lille Europe station" on Wednesday, local time, between the two European capitals. About 15 workers, including cable layers, were dispatched to solve the issue, but repairs were expected to take a good part of the day, the operator added. In Lille's southern district of Mont-de-Terre, AFP saw workers in orange vests placing cables back along the railway. They worked to reconnected dozens of multicoloured cables one by one inside thick tubes. Contacted by AFP, the police did not immediately provide more details on the cable theft. The Eurostar website showed that six trips between London and Paris — three in each direction — were cancelled on Wednesday, while other trains were still expected to run. Several trips between London and Brussels were also delayed. "Due to a cable theft near Lille Europe, our trains are likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations," Eurostar said, advising passengers to cancel or postpone their trip free of charge. It was the second day of disruptions after "two persons struck by trains near Lille Europe" upset traffic on Tuesday evening. Eurostar spokeswoman Juliette Clement told AFP trains were for the moment "being redirected via secondary routes, which increases travel times". Several passengers took to social media platforms to vent their frustration. "My journey out was cancelled due to 'technical difficulties'. Return now cancelled due to a fatality," one user who appeared to be in Paris wrote on Tuesday evening. "My rescheduled train is cancelled again. No seats today Paris to London," they added in a new post on Wednesday morning. SNCF said about 10 high-speed train trips between Lille and the French capital had also been cancelled. At the train station in Lille, 51-year-old Belgian holiday-maker Marie-Line Ponville was deeply disappointed. She and her daughter had been planning to board a ship in Marseille for a week-long cruise around the Mediterranean but look likely to miss the boat's departure. AFP
New York Times
25-06-2025
- New York Times
Eurostar Trains Delayed and Canceled After Cable Theft
Eurostar, the high-speed train service that connects Britain with continental Europe, was facing a second consecutive day of severe delays after cables were stolen and two people were hit by a train near its station in Lille, France, the company said. The train operator said there were delays and last-minute cancellations on Wednesday after a 'cable theft' near the station in northern France, and advised passengers to cancel or postpone their trips. Eurostar was also forced to cancel routes on Tuesday, after two people died on its high-speed line between Lille and Paris. The problems come during a time of heightened fears about sabotage in Europe, and they follow several other major disruptions to European rail services because of cable theft or vandalism. In May, more than 10,000 passengers were stranded in Spain after cable was stolen. Last July, arsonists in France cut and burned cables for high-speed rail lines before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, targeting important signal stations in three different areas. Experts say that the unusually dense French rail network is especially vulnerable to sabotage, in part because it is so expansive. There was no immediate official indication as to the motivation behind the cable thefts. Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting.
CNA
25-06-2025
- CNA
Cable theft in north France disrupts Eurostar traffic
LILLE, France: The theft of cables along train tracks in northern France on Wednesday (Jun 25) disrupted Eurostar trips between London and Paris for a second day in a row, the company and French railway operator said. Overnight, "more than 600m of cable were stolen or severed south of the Lille Europe station" on the way between the two capitals, French railway operator SNCF said. "The impact is essentially on high-speed train traffic," it added. Around 15 workers, including cable layers, were dispatched to solve the issue, but repairs were expected to take a good part of the day, the operator added. In Lille's southern district of Mont-de-Terre, AFP saw workers in orange vests placing cables back along the railway. They worked to reconnect dozens of multicoloured cables one by one inside thick tubes. Contacted by AFP, the police did not immediately provide more details on the cable theft. The Eurostar website showed that six trips between London and Paris, three in each direction, were cancelled on Wednesday, while other trains were still expected to run. Several trips between London and Brussels were delayed. "Due to a cable theft near Lille Europe, our trains are likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations," Eurostar said, advising passengers to cancel or postpone their trip free of charge. It was the second day of disruptions after "two persons struck by trains near Lille Europe" upset traffic on Tuesday evening. Eurostar spokeswoman Juliette Clement told AFP trains were for the moment "being redirected via secondary routes, which increases travel times". Several passengers took to X to vent their frustration. "My journey out was cancelled due to 'technical difficulties'. Return now cancelled due to a fatality," one user who appeared to be in Paris wrote on Tuesday evening. "My rescheduled train is cancelled again. No seats today Paris to London," they added in a new post on Wednesday morning. SNCF said around 10 high-speed train trips between Lille and the French capital had also been cancelled. At the train station in Lille, 51-year-old Belgian holidaymaker Marie-Line Ponville was deeply disappointed. She and her daughter had been planning to board a ship in Marseille for a week-long cruise around the Mediterranean, but it looked likely that they would miss the boat's departure.
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- The Guardian
Eurostar facing severe delays after huge cable theft in France
Passengers booked on Eurostar train services have been urged to cancel or delay their trips after a huge theft of cable in France, which threatened to disrupt the Nato summit in the Netherlands. Engineers are scrambling to repair the high speed line after 600m of cable was stolen or cut at Lille Europe station, the key interchange for trains between London and Paris and between Paris and Brussels and Amsterdam. On Wednesday Eurostar told customers that, due to the theft, its trains were 'likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations. Our stations are very busy, and we advise you to cancel or postpone your trip.' Police have launched an investigation, with forensic teams on the scene outside Lille that has disrupted dozens of high speed services. Dutch authorities are also investigating disruption in the Netherlands on Tuesday after a power outage on around 30 rail cables affected trains from Schiphol airport, about 50km away from the Nato summit in The Hague. The justice minister of the Netherlands, David van Weel, said the damage could have been an attempt to sabotage the two-day meeting of Nato leaders. 'The question is who is behind it. It can be an activist group, it can be a country,' he said. Eurostar advised all passengers on Wednesday to either change their journey or cancel it and request a free exchange or refund. French regional train networks TER Hauts de France said 15 cable installers and specialists had been mobilised to repair the line at Lille Europe. 'Delays and cancellations are expected until early afternoon,' the railway company said. The company said the theft occurred along the track bordering Mont-de-Terre station, between Lille and Lezennes, on signal cables laid in gutters on the ground. It said agents from the French national rail company, SNCF, were carrying out repairs by bringing in new cables. 'As is always the case in this type of operation, the task involves connecting, one by one, around 15 wires making up each cable. This is meticulous work,' it added. The delays follow disruption on Tuesday after two people died in separate incidents on the line between Lille and Paris, causing the line to be shut for most of the day. One Tuesday Alex Deane, a consultant who was a passenger on a train to Paris from St Pancras International in London scheduled for 3.30pm, said it had been delayed by two hours. After they left London, the train 'stopped in the middle of nowhere' and then returned to the British capital, he said on social media. In May, Spain's transport minister said the country's rail network suffered 'an act of serious sabotage' after vital signalling cable was stolen over a busy bank holiday weekend, bringing severe delays to high-speed services between Madrid and Seville that affected more than 10,000 people.
