Eurostar: New Year plans derailed as travellers ‘sent to back of the queue’, says travel editor

Eurostar: New Year plans derailed as travellers ‘sent to back of the queue’, says travel editor

Hello welcome back Eurostar trains have resumed today after flooding caused Mass cancellations yesterday leaving thousands of passengers stranded operators though warning these delays could continue with only one tunnel operational and speed restrictions in place let’s talk to the travel expert Simon CER joining us live from St pankas

Hi Simon good to see you so things are moving are they uh they are they started this morning about 10 minutes late the very first train left panas International after a day and a half of absolute chaos um this was going nonstop to Paris um it’s well on its way delayed a bit

During the uh problems with the temps tunnel just to kind of go back to where we are yesterday morning at 4 a.m. uh hs1 highspeed one the company that runs the link from here at some panras International to the channel tunnel and then onwards of course through to France

Belgium and then the Netherlands said sorry there’s a problem with flooding beneath the temps the line goes from Essex through to Kent and they had flooding there yeah a really really bad uh uh flooding they couldn’t run trains through it they tried during the day to

Clear some of the water they couldn’t do that eventually all 41 trains traveling from here to Paris Amsterdam and Brussels and in the opposite direction were cancelled as a result of that more than 30,000 people had their New Year travel plans torn up and while they are

Running trains planning to run a full service today they tell me at Eurostar they are not going to be able to have any extra trains which means that those 30,000 people are now at the back of the queue I’ve just been inside long line of

People waiting to uh try to switch to a train today but un unfortunately they’re being told sorry we haven’t got any availability um you’re going to have to wait a couple of days in some cases to get back and meanwhile of course people so emotionally invested in their

Journeys just desperate to uh get to their love ones in time for the New Year celebration and that’s the point that’s the point isn’t it Simon with with all this yes trains might be running albeit slowly and like you say no more Trains being put on but people are in the wrong

Place they’ve still got really no hope of getting where they want to be well that is so so sad I’ve been watching the Alternative forms of Transport so um let’s start with the planes um there’s a couple of seats I understand on British Airways from Brussels this afternoon

That are um on sale for about getting on for 400 um Ba’s last seat from Paris to London heat Row for today went last night for £700 don’t blame the airlines they’re providing a service even on the buses which is always the budget alternative flicks bus um have only one bus today

From Paris to London with any seats available and that unfortunately is going to be leaving at halfast 11 at night so you would spend the beginning of 2024 on a bus in a on a French Motorway um it’s looking pretty tough for all those people who were stuck

Yesterday and I tell you what even if you’re just traveling within the UK it’s a miserable day for tens of thousands of people train cancellations running into the hundreds both here at St panas International particularly with TS link trains um over at Kings Cross the hub

For Ln on the East Coast Mainline to Yorkshire Northeast England and Scotland um we have more than 20 inter city trains either cancelled or curtailed not running the full route and then Northern trains oh goodness they put out do not travel notice for six of their routs including Manchester to Chester because

They simply have no staff available yeah and and that’s the point isn’t it unbelievable to think at this time of year they can’t find staff to run the trains well it’s because it’s a Sunday and if you work for Northern trains then if you’re employed on the west side of

The penines in the Lancashire side then Sunday isn’t part of your working week and therefore it’s highly up to you and if it’s New Year’s Eve you might think actually I don’t fancy working thanks I’ll stay spend the day with the family and that’s perfectly legitimate um on

The east side of the penines then Sunday is part of the working week so therefore there will be more trains but uh it’s also what what kind of recompense can can people get we’ve heard people forking out hundreds uh for their Journeys that have been kashed but can people automatically get comp

Compensation do they have to apply for it well if your train isn’t running then you get a refund of the fair that’s that’s very straightforward there will also be an awful lot of people who are delayed with their Journeys today and you can get delay repay uh with the case

Of Eurostar well it’s very very different I mean sen panras International pretty much the size of a large airport like Edinburgh or Luton and if that closed down for 24 hours all the airline passengers would have loads right they’ve got to be got to their destination they might be entitled to

Cash compensation whatever the problem the airline has to sort it out Eurostar simply says well if you’re spending 6 700 on a flight ticket we’ll give you the cost of your ticket back but we’re not going to make up the difference so it might be that um travel insurance is

The way forward but uh it’s still a very Bleak time for tens of thousands of passengers who are trying to rely on Railway to get where they need to be for New Year and um it’s all gone as they say in the travel industry Tango

Uniform Simon uh good to talk to you as always we wish you a happy New Year thank you very much indeed for your time today thank you Simon CER

Travel editor of The Independent Simon Calder discusses the travel chaos at St Pancras as the Eurostar resumes services after “unprecedented” flooding in a tunnel.

He said thousands of travellers are being sent to the “back of the queue”, adding that Eurostar said they are “not going to be able to have any extra trains” .

Read more: https://news.sky.com/story/eurostar-warns-of-more-delays-as-trains-resume-while-other-rail-firms-also-predict-major-disruption-13039929

#eurostar #travel #transport

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