Elizabeth Romijn, a yoga teacher from the Netherlands, told PA news agency at St Pancras that the situation was "very chaotic" and people were having to sit on the ground because there were not enough chairs.  The 75-year-old was planning to travel home to Brussels after visiting friends in Surrey. 

Eurostar passengers face severe delays after cable theft



Eurostar passengers are facing a second day of severe delays after two people died on the railway track in France and then cables were stolen.

The high-speed rail operators says repairs are complete and the railway line is open again, but delays will last until the end of the day.

Eurostar said passengers should postpone their journey, after the disruption saw services cancelled and delayed in both directions on lines connecting London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Eurostar said there was already knock-on disruption on Wednesday after two people died in separate incidents on the LGV Nord line on Tuesday, but services were further impacted after cable was stolen on the same line.



The theft near Lille, which French media said was of around 600 metres of copper cables, caused trains to be rerouted, leading to extended journey times. Further cancellations are not expected on Wednesday now that the railway line is repaired.

Eurostar said that so far, five trains between London and Paris have been cancelled. It added that impacted passengers can change their travel plans for free or request a full refund.

"We're very sorry for the impact this is having on our customers," Eurostar said in a statement. "Our teams are working closely with the French authorities and infrastructure teams to manage the situation and restore services safely."

The operator earlier said one track had reopened, allowing some trains to run in both directions until full repairs were completed.  Water is being handed out to passengers onboard delayed trains, and stations are also very busy.  Hundreds of people are queuing at London's St Pancras International railway station trying to access the service centre to rebook onto other trains.

Elizabeth Romijn, a yoga teacher from the Netherlands, told PA news agency at St Pancras that the situation was "very chaotic" and people were having to sit on the ground because there were not enough chairs.  The 75-year-old was planning to travel home to Brussels after visiting friends in Surrey.  "My plan is to just wait. Maybe I should go and be more proactive and go to ask one of the staff but nobody seems to know anything," she said, adding that "it's quite horrible long queues."

The railway line in France was closed for much of the afternoon and evening on Tuesday after the two fatalities between Lille and Paris.  Services were cancelled on routes to and from Paris while trains between London, Brussels and Amsterdam ran with delays.  Eurostar said disruption continued into Wednesday as trains and crew were displaced.