Eurostar cancels all trains out of London as power outage hits Channel Tunnel

Eurostar has cancelled all trains out of London towards Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels until further notice after a power outage in the Channel Tunnel caused a Le Shuttle train to fail.

Staff at London St Pancras International station have told Eurostar passengers to postpone their travel plans and re-book for a later date.

By midday, at least a dozen Eurostar services between the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands had been cancelled – many more had also been delayed or altered.

Train traffic will “gradually resume” this afternoon, according to the company which operates the Channel Tunnel.

Elsewhere, Eurotunnel service Le Shuttle – which carries road vehicles and passengers through the tunnel – has also suspended trains between Folkestone and Calais due to what it described as a “power supply issue” which occurred overnight.

National Rail said the major disruption is expected to last until further notice.

Eurostar said: “Services to and from London are suspended until further notice due to overhead power supply issues in the Channel Tunnel, followed by a failed Le Shuttle train.

“We advise our customers to re-book their journey for another day, with free exchanges available.

“We apologise for the disruption and will continue to keep customers updated with the latest information.”

According to Eurostar, passengers can rearrange their plans free of charge or can cancel their booking and get a refund or an e-voucher.

The broken Le Shuttle train has been moved out of the Channel Tunnel and Eurotunnel expects to resume services around 15:00 CET (14:00 GMT).

“Our teams are working to restore the situation as quickly as possible,” Le Shuttle said in a statement.

“Waiting times will be adjusted throughout the day. Eurotunnel apologises for the inconvenience and thanks its customers for their patience and understanding.”

On its website Le Shuttle says check-in and border control services are experiencing lengthy delays.

Ben Clark, from Bedfordshire, told the BBC he has been stuck on-board Le Shuttle in Calais with his wife and three daughters since 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

“The first two-and-a-half hours weren’t too bad but the girls have got restless in the last half an hour so we’ve let them run around the boarding carriage to burn off some energy,” he said.

“Some people are getting angry but there’s nothing that can be done, others are sleeping in their cars. We have used up our snacks and now have no plan B or C.”

On the UK side at Folkestone, Le Shuttle said there is a delay of around three-and-a-half hours to the booked departure time.

Matthew Webber, from Suffolk, said he has been stuck for hours and is unclear whether he and his group will be able to continue their journey.

“Not a lot of information being given out which is poor,” he told the BBC.

“Lots of queues and everyone is waiting to get on the Tunnel. The conditions are very busy and people are leaving to get a ferry.”

At the Calais terminal in France the delay is currently around three hours.

Steph Roberts, from Ashford, Kent, told the BBC she has been stuck at the Calais terminal with her husband Robert and bulldog Dempsey since 10:30.

She had spent two weeks in France seeing her parents and family over Christmas.

Ms Roberts said: “We’ve not had any updates or been given any food or water.

“We’ve just been spending the time going through social media and reading magazines. I’ve also gone out to take the dog for a couple of walks.”

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