Eurostar says full service to resume after power glitch sparks travel chaos

Tuesday's disruption was the latest to affect Eurostar at a time when the company has faced criticism over its high prices, especially on the Paris-London route

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Delayed passengers at St Pancras train station, central London, after all Eurostar services were cancelled. Tuesday December 30, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)

Eurostar traffic slowly resumed on Wednesday in the Channel Tunnel after an electricity failure halted trips between London and mainland Europe.

Travellers making journeys in the busy run-up to New Year had been left scrambling to find alternatives after the operator postponed all services between London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

“Services have resumed today following a power issue in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure overnight,” Eurostar said on its website. The online timetable still announced some delays and “knock-on impacts” on New Year’s Eve, including possible last-minute cancellations.

Several Eurostar passengers spent hours stuck in a train overnight, according to media reports. One man told the BBC he had boarded the 7:01 PM train from London to Paris, but at 3:00 AM he was still sitting in the train at the entrance to the tunnel.

France’s BFMTV reported passengers were left waiting in the night on a train without electricity, heating or functioning toilets. “Nothing electrical is working. It’s always the same information – there’s a serious problem,” a passenger named Hervé told the broadcaster.

‘Stay calm’

Most trains scheduled on Wednesday morning are leaving London, though some have been cancelled and others delayed.

Eurostar had on Tuesday warned passengers to postpone their journeys to a different date and warned them of severe delays as well as last-minute cancellations.

As well as the power problem, there was also a failed LeShuttle train in the Channel tunnel, the 31-mile (50-kilometre) undersea rail link between Folkestone in England and the Calais area in France. LeShuttle operates vehicle-carrying trains between Folkestone in southeast England and Calais in northern France.

Crowds of stranded travellers, many with suitcases, swelled at London’s St Pancras International station and at the Gare du Nord in Paris as they were notified that their end-of-year holiday plans were being thrown into doubt.

High demand

A record-high 19.5 million passengers travelled on Eurostar last year, up nearly 5% on 2023, driven by demand from visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.

Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France since it opened in 1994.

But British entrepreneur Richard Branson – founder of the Virgin airline – has vowed to launch a rival service. Italy’s Trenitalia has also said it intends to compete with Eurostar on the Paris-London route by 2029.

Tuesday’s disruption was the latest to affect Eurostar at a time when the company has faced criticism over its high prices, especially on the Paris-London route.

An electrical fault forced the cancellation of Eurostar services and severe delays on others in August. The theft of cables on train tracks in northern France caused two days of problems in June.

Dec 31, 2025 - 11:37 Last updated: Dec 31, 2025 - 11:37