Eurostar cancels London-Paris services as getaway chaos continues
Travellers between Paris and London have been left stranded as Eurostar today was forced to scrap two morning services, causing delays.
Trains were cancelled after parts of the French high-speed line were closed yesterday due to a broken down train
People took it to Twitter to complain about the situation.
One user described the queues as a “s**t show,” while another said: “[The] train breaking down is not your fault – [a] lack of contingency and communication most certainly is.”
The news comes as over the weekend thousands of Britons at Dover and Folkestone were stuck in queues of up to a day, trying to get to the continent.
After 48 hours of pure mayhem – blamed by the UK on “unacceptable” staffing levels at the French border control and on Brexit by France – the situation improved earlier this morning.
French border controls were accused of resisting Eurostar’s efforts to increase daily trains from 13 to 17.
Before the pandemic Eurostar used to run 25 daily services, including to Brussels and Amsterdam.
Staff at Gare du Nord have reportedly said they can’t cope with additional services due to chronic staffing shortages.
Nevertheless, the situation is expected to improve by the autumn, said Eurostar.
“We have had constructive discussions with the authorities on how we can work together to continue to increase our services,” said a company spokesperson.
“In Gare du Nord, the French border police have committed to increasing resources, the douanes have added staff and opened more lanes, and in autumn there will be an increase in the number of UK border gates which will help to further streamline the check-in process.”