Eurostar passengers stranded on trains overnight with no flushing toilets
Passengers have been stranded on Eurostar trains overnight with no flushing toilets on one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
The train network cancelled large parts of their service yesterday after a power supply failure and a failed Le Shuttle blocking the tracks.
And more delays and cancellations are expected today, with those bound for London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam having their New Year’s plans upended.
But for the ‘lucky ones’ who did manage to get on their train before the mass cancellations, they have been sat for more than six hours without the ability to flush the communal toilet.
Passenger Francis Collings told Sky News: ‘Maybe about 11pm at night, the power was turned off. So we have lighting, but it’s low lighting, but this seems to have affected the toilets, which don’t seem to want to flush.
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‘We’re not entirely sure what’s going to happen because there’s a fault somewhere, we believe, in the tunnel, but we’ve also been told it’s with the train and there was a fault with a carriage and there’s talk of locomotives pulling other trains that are further up the line out of the way.’
He described the scene as ‘utter chaos’ at St Pancras yesterday with crowds of about 20 people deep trying to get on ther trains.
Eurostar said today: ‘Services have resumed today following a power issue in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure overnight.
‘We plan to run all of our services today, however due to knock-on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations.’
One passenger for the Channel Tunnel told Metro she and her family had been waiting in their car at Calais for three hours after going through passport control on their way home from a minibreak.
‘We were maybe three cars away from entering the train,’ she said of the moment they got stuck. ‘They have been giving us a few updates, saying they are servicing electrical issues with the train.’
Around 1pm, they heard a tannoy announcement that boarding would finally take place, which was met with ‘loud cheers and honking’ from other drivers who were tired of waiting in rainy weather.
Can I get a refund for a cancelled train?
Eurostar says that passengers can do one of the following if they want to change their plans:
• Exchange your booking for free to travel in the same travel class at a different time or date. It only takes a minute to rearrange your trip.
• Cancel your booking and claim an e-voucher. You will have 12 months from the date of your disrupted journey to redeem it on eurostar.com.
• Cancel your booking and get a refund. You’ll receive a refund for the value of your ticket but not for any booking or exchange fees. The request will be processed within 28 days.
You have three months from the date you were due to travel to claim any refund or exchange.
Anyone who is delayed overnight has the right to be given accommodation in a hotel, or be reimbursed for the cost.
What about delayed trains?
Travellers are entitled to compensation if their train is delayed by over 60 minutes, even if they end up taking it.
You must wait at least 24 hours before claiming to allow systems to update, then have three months from the date of the delay to make the claim.
The amount which can be claimed back depends on how long the delay was, going up to 75% of the cost of the affected leg as a Eurostar e-voucher, or 50% of the cost as a cash refund, if the delay is over 180 minutes (three hours).
Can I claim back the cost of travelling home another way?
Contact Eurostar first to discuss the possibility of funding alternative means of travel, such as a flight or ferry,as this is not guaranteed.
London North Eastern Railway said any customers who have had to abandon their journey in London King’s Cross can return to their home station on the next available LNER service at no additional cost.
If people defer their Eurostar travel to a different day, they can also use their existing LNER ticket to travel to the newly booked service.