12 hours ago
Eurostar services cancelled after person hit by train
A dozen Eurostar trains from London to Paris have been delayed or cancelled.
Almost every service from St Pancras to Gare du Nord was either delayed or cancelled on Wednesday, with a spokesman blaming 'technical issues'.
A passenger stuck on a Eurostar train in France claimed the electricity had cut off, with those on board left with 'no air conditioning' for more than half an hour.
Timetable data showed delays to departure times of up to two hours, with the 14.31 service not leaving until 16.31. A notice on the departure times website warned: 'The updated times shown in red are approximate and may change.'
'It's starting to get hot'
One passenger said their service to Paris had got stuck near Crépy-en-Valois in the French countryside and was without air conditioning.
'Eurostar train stuck for over half an hour now,' the passenger said. 'Ventilation cut off, no communication for a quarter of an hour... it's starting to get hot, passengers are getting impatient.
''We're waiting for information from our driver.''We apologise for the inconvenience' – but still no ventilation. It's getting hotter and hotter.'
Temperatures in Crépy-en-Valois were 26C at 6pm.
'Operational issues'
Eurostar passengers were given nine different reasons for the delays on the company's official travel updates website page.
These included unspecified 'operational issues', St Pancras 'being very busy' and 'a fatality'. Others included 'an earlier train arriving late', 'an earlier incident', 'temporary speed restrictions' and 'a train stopped on the line'. The company also cited 'technical issues' and 'over-running maintenance work'.
The train company's customer services social media account said: 'Our trains are experiencing delays due to earlier technical issues and a person being hit by a train in France.'
