Channel Tunnel power fault fixed, but Eurostar delays persist after chaos

Trains began running again in both directions through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and continental Europe on Wednesday, after a power malfunction inside the tunnel was fixed overnight Tuesday.

The tunnel operator, Eurotunnel, said the 50-kilometer (32-mile) undersea link was back to “full capacity” following the repair, but did not provide details on the cause of the power fault.

Eurostar, which operates passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, warned that disruptions could continue. Its website displayed possible delays for Wednesday services connecting London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, in both directions, along with early morning cancellations.

Eurostar said the continued timetable problems were the result of “knock-on impacts” from the severe disruptions on Tuesday, when cross-Channel train services were interrupted for hours. The resulting cascade of cancellations disrupted end-of-year travel plans for passengers and prompted scrambles for alternatives such as flights and buses.

Eurostar also described a second power malfunction on the U.K. side that it said was related to the electrical fault inside the tunnel. It said the issue affected three trains and caused severe delays for passengers aboard them.

In one case, Eurostar said an overhead power cable fell onto a Eurostar train traveling from London to Paris near the tunnel entrance. It added that efforts to move the train with passengers inside proved “very complex.”

Eurostar said the power failure also caused severe delays to two trains headed to Brussels. Even with tunnel capacity restored, Eurostar’s Wednesday schedule continued to reflect disruptions carried over from Tuesday.

Passenger Ghislain Planque told French broadcaster BFMTV that his Eurostar journey Tuesday evening from London to France was meant to take just under 90 minutes but instead took around 11 hours. He said: “We were left without electricity, so with no heating, no air-conditioning, no possibility to charge phones.”

Planque added that passengers were in “total darkness for some of the time” during the extended delay, describing conditions aboard the train as having only intermittent power overnight.