Ricardo Paulino
On Saturday, December 30th, the Eurostar train company cancelled all its services to and from London due to a water pipe that broke near Ebbsfleet International station.
It is the main route for high-speed trains from locations such as Ramsgate and Ashford to London, as well as international services between St. Pancras International and Europe. Both operators' services to and from St Pancras were be impacted, with Eurostar being forced to cancel around 40 of its routes.
“Flooding in the Thames tunnels has been brought under control by Network Rail High Speed meaning at least one tunnel can now be used and a full service can operate", EuroStar said.
“There will be some speed restrictions in place in the morning which may lead to delays and stations are expected to be very busy. “Unfortunately, this unprecedented event has caused major disruption to customers today. Eurostar has been working to ensure everyone affected has been supported in all of our stations. Customers have had the option to re-book onto alternative services or opt for a refund", the train company explained.
Thames Water said the incident regarding the flooding had been caused by a "fire control system". In a statement, the company said: “We have been informed of an incident involving a pipe flooding the Eurostar tunnel.
"We believe the incident is in regard to a fire control system and not a Thames Water pipe/asset, however we have a technician on the way to offer support to control the flow of water. We will continue to monitor the situation and offer support where needed.”
Since they contend that "Eurostar has not notified about the incident in time, but rather they have said it at the last minute," thousands of users have been left stuck between the two countries in their search for a solution, making it difficult for clients to resolve the issue through alternative channels.
James (a customer waiting at St. Pancras) said to Eurostar, "Zero communication at St Pancras. Board suddenly changed all trains to cancelled, is there a replacement train? What are our options."
The train operator has suggested that users look at social media for upcoming communications from EuroStar, and that the service will be re-established within hours.
Edited by Jonathan Nwabenu
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