Eurostar cancels Paris-London services as strikes hit France
Eurostar has cancelled trains between Paris and London as nation-wide strikes hit France.
The train operator was forced to axe today’s 11.13am and 4.13pm services to London as well as the 1.31pm and 7.01pm trains to Paris, as thousands of French transport workers walked out in a dispute over pay.
“Travellers booked on a cancelled Eurostar train, can exchange their booking for free, cancel and claim an e-voucher, or claim a refund from the original point of sale,” said a company spokesperson.
Begun yesterday, the strikes have become the latest hurdle for the operator and its new chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave.
A rail veteran, Cazenave officially took over on 1 October following the resignation of Jacques Damas after two years at the company’s helm.
Over the last few months, Eurostar has raised some doubts about its future profitability as the train operator was forced to raise fares and scrap services – including direct trains to Disneyland Paris – as a result of Brexit and Covid.
Late last month, Eurostar complained that peak capacity at London St Pancras was down 30 per cent due to post-Brexit checks causing a “significant increase in processing times.”
Responding to an inquiry by the transport select committee, Damas said that post-Brexit checks have added 15 seconds per passenger, forcing Eurostar to process a maximum of 1,500 passengers per hour at peak times – down from 2,200 in 2019.