Eurostar cancellations due to flooding cause New Year travel chaos | UK News

Travellers in London are facing a day of chaos after Eurostar and local train services were cancelled due to a flooded tunnel under the River Thames.

Thousands of passengers have been left stranded at St Pancras International all morning on Saturday after the tracks were completely submerged underwater.

Eurostar has already cancelled 14 trains to and from the capital, including Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Some people have reportedly been ‘left in tears because their trips to Disney have been cancelled’.

Simon Calder, a travel editor for The Independent, told Sky News: ‘It’s just been really terrible here.

‘Some people are just going home, getting in the car and hoping they can drive to Dover and find a ferry.’

Eurostar has apologised for the severe disruption.

Mr Calder added that there are also concerns Thameslink services could be cancelled tomorrow, throwing into disarray New Year’s Eve plans for many.

Southeastern also said ‘all lines are blocked’ between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras, meaning local routes are cancelled.

‘Flooding has occurred in both railway tunnels near Ebbsfleet International, meaning both tunnels are closed,’ a Southeastern spokesman said.

‘This means no trains can run between London St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International. Disruption is expected all day.’

An image shared by Southeastern shows the railway track completely swamped.

Pictures from St Pancras show huge crowds of people unable to board trains due to the flooding, which happened after heavy wind and rain battered the UK.

Elsewhere, speed restrictions are in place on the West Highland Lines from 10am today until 9am tomorrow due to the forecast, Network Rail Scotland said.

Strong wind gusts are also on the way as parts of the UK brace for snowy weather and travel disruption during the last weekend of the year.

A yellow weather warning for ice across the north and north west of Scotland is set to run to 10am on Saturday.

A similar warning for rain and snow has been issued for much of Scotland on Saturday.

The warning is in place from 8am until midnight on Saturday, with up to 25mm of rain forecast at lower levels.

A period of sleet and snow, turning to rain, may lead to some flooding and travel disruption.

The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for rain across parts of Northern Ireland, running through to Saturday at 11am, with 15 to 25mm of rain falling in a few hours.

Some heavy rain is also likely across the west of Northern Ireland on Saturday morning before wet and windy conditions push east and north eastwards.

A spell of strong and gusty winds is also set to hit London and the south east, the east and south west England along with parts of Wales on Saturday where there is a yellow warning for wind that runs through to New Year’s Eve on Sunday at 3am.

There could be ‘gusts of 45-50 mph widely’ but the strongest winds are ‘likely near coasts in the west and south, with 65-75 mph in places’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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