Eurostar delay chaos as London to Paris trains cancelled leaving passengers stranded

Eurostar passengers were left stranded for up to seven hours yesterday after two people were sadly struck by trains.

Those travelling between LondonSt Pancras International and Gare Du Nord in Pariswere delayed for hours in both directions or had their trains cancelled altogether following the shocking incident - with the operator warning disruption was set to continue into this morning. “Due to two persons struck by trains near Lille Europe, we've delays and cancellations to our services all evening,” Eurostar said in a statement on X, adding: “We apologise to everyone affected and advise changing your journey for a different travel date.”

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Services between London and Paris came to a halt shortly after 3pm, and the incident left one train due to arrive in Paris before 6pm still trailing along the tunnels in northern France at 9.45pm, the Telegraph reports. It came after two separate incidents, the first reported to have happened between Lille and Paris at roughly 5pm, and the second between Lille and Arras, according to local media.

Taking to X this morning, Eurostar warned that while trains will be running today, there are a "few cancellations" and "a lot of passengers travelling." It added: "So the situation might still be difficult."

So far, the operator has cancelled five trains today - including the 9007, 9013, 9023, 9008, and the 9018 trains. Yesterday's incident sparked major disruption with massive queues reported at UK and French railway stations, and the situation worsened by a stolen cable near Lille.

Several passengers were left delayed while later trains, including those departing at 4.01pm, 6.01pm and 8.01pm, were cancelled outright. Furious passengers then took to social media demanding refunds from Eurostar. “I’ve been on the 9032 for seven hours and we’re still not in Paris,” one said. “Will we get full compensation?”

Another added: “I’m going to need my full ticket refunded plus compensation. Five hours on board and now another three-hour delay.”

Passenger Naomi Sanger told KentOnline her 4.31pm train from Gare Du Nord never left the platform and that she was stranded at the station. She said on X that food and drink was also running low - and that the station's air con was not working.

In a seperate incident in France last Wednesday, a dozen Eurostar trains along the same route were delayed or cancelled after a person was hit on tracks.