New EU entry-exit system could lead to gridlocked roads if scheme goes ahead as planned, MPs hear
Tourists heading to Europe could face waits of up to 14 hours at border controls under a scheme to be launched in October, MPs have been told.
The Port of Dover and the surrounding area could face significant disruption when the EU entry/exit system is introduced unless measures are taken to prevent delays, parliament’s European scrutiny committee has heard.
Continue reading...Those affected decry ‘disgusting’ lack of communication, while others had to pay £1,000 to travel the next day
What promised to be a romantic New Year’s Eve in Paris ended in tears and travel trauma for Sean Winterbottom and his partner, Amy. The couple were among about 30,000 passengers to have their Eurostar journey cancelled on Saturday because of a flooded tunnel under the Thames.
“We were going to go for a flash dinner and … we had bookings, hotel reservations and everything,” Sean said of the trip they had been looking forward to for months.
Continue reading...Tunnel under Thames near Ebbsfleet was closed not by weather, but burst pipe, with Southeastern Railway also affected
Eurostar said services through the Channel tunnel would resume on Sunday but there were warnings of further delays and busy stations.
“Unprecedented” flooding was brought under control on Saturday, meaning at least one of the affected tunnels – under the Thames near Ebbsfleet, not under the Channel itself – could be used.
Continue reading...Dismay at St Pancras International in London as services cancelled due to flooding of Thames tunnel
When Ilse Deurloo arrived at St Pancras station after a festive holiday with her boyfriend in London, she was shocked by the scenes of chaos and disruption as thousands of travellers were left stranded.
“This is not what I had in mind,” said Deurloo, 20, who was planning to return home to Amsterdam on Saturday. Her train, like all expected high-speed services between Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras International, was cancelled due to flooding in a tunnel under the Thames. Thames Water said it believed the incident was caused by a fire control system malfunction.
Continue reading...Southeastern trains on same route also affected, while windy conditions expected to sweep UK
Thousands of travellers faced disruption to their new year plans after all Eurostar trains in and out of London were cancelled on Saturday after “unprecedented” flooding in a tunnel on the line.
There were no high-speed services running between London St Pancras international and Ebbsfleet international in Kent on Saturday, and Southeastern trains on the same route were also suspended. A total of 41 Eurostar trains were cancelled.
Continue reading...Weather warnings issued for drivers and London’s King’s Cross and Paddington stations will be closed
Christmas getaway travel disruption is expected to continue throughout the weekend, with millions of car journeys under way and major London railway stations due to close on Sunday.
The AA estimated that 16.4m car journeys will take place on Saturday and warned of “lengthy jams”.
Continue reading...Eurostar and Eurotunnel services resume on Friday but drivers face 60-minute queue for French border controls
Christmas getaway disruption was continuing on Friday with long queues for cross-Channel journeys, motorway closures and train cancellations on one of the busiest days of the year for travel.
In the late afternoon the Port of Dover in Kent said it was taking about 60 minutes to process cars before French border controls.
Continue reading...Last-minute Eurotunnel strike by French unions in Calais halts services as Storm Pia causes travel problems across country
Passengers are suffering fresh disruption in the Christmas getaway after severe weather left rail lines blocked around Britain, while a strike by French Eurotunnel workers has halted Eurostar trains and cross-Channel shuttle services.
Strong winds from Storm Pia, including gusts of up to 80mph in northern Britain, have blown down trees on tracks around the country.
Continue reading...Evolyn says route is ‘strategic and high demand’ and it intends to launch its first service in 2025
A Spanish rail company has announced plans to launch a Paris to London high-speed train service to rival Eurostar.
The company, Evolyn, said the route was “strategic and high demand” and that it intended to launch its first service in 2025. It had reached an agreement to buy 12 high-speed trains from the French manufacturer Alstom and had the option of acquiring four more, it added.
Continue reading...After French capital hosted fashion week and Rugby World Cup there are concerns the problem will spread
Paris is burning its luggage and bed linen as it battles a “scourge” of bedbugs, stoking fears of infestation around the world as pest controllers report an uptick in inquiries and transport operators and hoteliers seek to assuage concerns.
The city of light is reportedly under siege from the nocturnal bloodsuckers, leading the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, to meet transport operators. “It’s a real nightmare,” says Yacine, a schoolteacher in Paris who declined to give his surname. “I’m so afraid to take the Métro, I don’t go to the cinema – it’s very alarmant.”
Continue reading...A doctor was shocked to find no anti-allergy pens on board the train, though operator says law forbids it at present
A junior doctor is calling for lifesaving adrenaline auto-injectors to be carried on Eurostar after caring for a young child who suffered an allergic reaction on the service.
Dr Raphaelle Debray, 26, who is French and works for the NHS, was en route to Paris when she responded to an appeal for a doctor. She requested the onboard medical kit and found it contained only some plasters and a defibrillator. In contrast, international guidelines state that commercial airlines should carry emergency medical kits, with equipment and medication including adrenaline. British Airways and easyJet said they carried adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) on all flights.
Continue reading...About 350 out of 900 seats normally left unsold on the first services between London, Paris and Brussels
Peak time Eurostar trains are daily forced to run across the Channel with hundreds of empty seats because border police cannot process passports quick enough.
About 350 out of 900 seats are normally left unsold on the first services between London, Paris and Brussels despite “huge demand” for the greenest form of international travel, Eurostar bosses said.
Continue reading...High-speed rail firm blames departure from EU and Covid for decision to halt service next summer
Eurostar has decided to stop direct services from London to Disneyland Paris from next summer, citing the fallout from Brexit and Covid.
The high-speed train operator said on Tuesday it was scrapping trains running from the British capital to the Disneyland site in Marne-la-Vallée, in the eastern Paris suburbs.
Continue reading...Eurostar and easyJet report surge in ticket sales while package holiday operators anticipate bumper weekend
Package holiday operators have given a lukewarm response to the government’s latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions on arrivals in England, but travel firms that focus on short breaks have reported an uptick in 11th-hour bookings.
The the 10-day quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated people arriving from France was lifted on Thursday, while seven countries including Germany and Austria were added to the green list, meaning travellers must take only a couple of tests and do not need to quarantine.
Continue reading...The cross-Channel train service has seen a 95% fall in passengers during the Covid-19 pandemic
Eurostar has said it is facing an existential threat, as business leaders pleaded with the government to step in and save the “vital link” with Europe.
A 95% drop in passenger numbers has brought the cross-Channel train service to its knees, and the company reiterated on Sunday that while government loans had been extended to aviation, international high-speed rail had also been severely affected by the pandemic.
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