A major power supply failure within the Channel Tunnel has triggered a complete suspension of all Eurostar train services departing from London, causing widespread travel chaos for passengers bound for Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels. The indefinite cancellation, announced on Tuesday, has left crowds of travelers stranded at London’s St Pancras International station, with authorities advising all customers to postpone their journeys and rebook for a later date.
The disruption extends beyond passenger rail services. Eurotunnel’s Le Shuttle, which transports vehicles between Folkestone, UK, and Calais, France, has also been suspended indefinitely due to the same ‘power supply issue,’ resulting in massive delays. Passengers on this service are experiencing hold-ups exceeding three and a half hours on the UK side and approximately three hours in France.
National Rail has confirmed that the severe disruption is anticipated to persist until the end of the day. In response to the crisis, Eurostar has implemented a flexible rebooking policy, allowing affected travelers to rearrange their trips without charge or cancel their bookings for a full refund or e-voucher. The company has urgently requested that passengers refrain from coming to the station unless they possess a valid ticket for travel on that specific day, directing them instead to check live service updates online.
The human impact of the outage is significant. Passengers like Steph Roberts from Kent reported being stuck at the Calais terminal for hours with limited communication and no provisions. Having visited family in France for Christmas, she described a frustrating wait with no updates or offers of food and water, passing the time on social media and walking her dog. Eurotunnel has stated that technical teams are actively working to diagnose and resolve the power supply problems, though no estimated time for a full restoration of service has been provided.