Eurostar urges passengers to postpone journeys due to 'major disruption'

The operator blamed the travel chaos on "a problem with the overhead power supply in the Channel Tunnel and a subsequent failed Le Shuttle train".

"We strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date," Eurostar said in a message on its website.

"Please don't come to the station unless you already have a ticket to travel.

"We regret that trains that can run are subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations," it added.

Eurostar, which operates services between Britain and mainland Europe, urged customers to "check for live updates on the status of your train".

The disruption came in the very busy travel period between Christmas and New Year.

Eurostar runs trains from London's St Pancras station to locations including as Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

LeShuttle also operates vehicle-carrying trains between Folkestone in southeast England and Calais in northern France.

A record-high 19.5 million passengers travelled on Eurostar last year, up nearly five percent on 2023, driven by demand from visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.

Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France since it opened in 1994.

But British entrepreneur Richard Branson -- the man behind the Virgin airline -- has vowed to launch a rival service. Italy's Trenitalia has also said it intends to compete with Eurostar on the Paris-London route by 2029.