Passengers at St Pancras International faced uncertainty on Tuesday as a significant power outage at the Channel Tunnel disrupted travel plans for thousands. Monserrat Hernandes, her brother John Paul and their mother Olga stood by nervously as their phones pinged. They were waiting to get news of how their trip to Paris for New Year’s Eve was shaping up.
In July, the Channel Tunnel temporarily closed after an electrical failure. The upshot is that, by midday, it had canceled at least a full dozen Eurostar services that connect the UK to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Getlink, the company that operates the Channel Tunnel, said crews toiled overnight. All of these efforts stemmed from a desire to fix the power disruption and get things back to normal in record time.
At present, only one of the two primary rail tunnels is in operation at any given time, leading to lengthy delays for travelers. The LeShuttle service resumed gradually on one track shortly before 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT), but travelers faced warnings of delays totaling around five hours. National Rail warned travelers not to travel to London St Pancras International if their Eurostar train had been canceled.
The Department for Transport has since confirmed that the disruption will last all day. Crews are facing tough odds as they work to repair the damaged overhead cables. To say that thousands of families were stranded and frustrated in this limbo is an understatement. Ben Clark of Bedfordshire was one such passenger stranded aboard Le Shuttle in Calais with his wife and three young daughters.
The first two-and-a-half hours weren’t too bad but the girls have got restless in the last half an hour so we’ve let them run around the boarding carriage to burn off some energy. Clark expressed, shining a light on the opposition families had to fight through during the harrowing experience.
It was very disappointing we had planned this trip for such a long time. “They say nothing is travelling today… there’s no hope for leaving tomorrow,” she lamented, echoing the sentiments of many travelers caught in the chaos.
Haley Adams and Hannah Hagar were among those impacted as well. They had spent a total of $580 (£430) on flights to Paris to celebrate Hannah’s 36th birthday. Through it all, Adams refused to lose hope, even though the storm encircled her. “Hopefully I meet the love of my life,” she said, looking ahead to their exciting adventure to come.
As night fell, passengers were still desperately trying to find information and updates as crews made progress on repairs. Most of these travelers were worried about their flight and housing accommodations, with many having no contingency plans set up.
While some folks are starting to get mad and there’s literally nothing that can be done about it, others are still living out of their vehicles. We’re out of snacks and don’t have a plan B or C. As Ben Clark put it, crystalizing the angst and urgency that so many remain trapped in transit.