Eurostar flights from London have been canceled “until the end of the day” as heavy rain and strong winds threaten to ruin people’s New Year plans.
High-speed services between Ebbsfleet International Airport and London St Pancras International Airport will not operate today due to flooding in the tunnels under the River Thames.
According to the operator, the flooding has also disrupted Southeastern Railway trains running on the same route.
Eurostar, which operates flights from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, has apologized to customers for the impact on their travel plans.
South Eastern Railway posted on X, saying: “Due to flooding in the Ebbsfleet tunnel, we will not be running any high speed services all day today.”
“Trains will not run between Ashford and St Pancras or Gravesend and St Pancras. Please use an alternative route.”
Two newlyweds from New York said their plans to spend New Year’s Eve at Disneyland in Paris were “ruined” by the disruption to their Eurostar trip.
Nicole Carrera, 29, and her husband Christopher, 31, were due to board a train to Paris from London’s St Pancras International Station on Saturday morning, but the train was canceled due to flooding.
They had to rebook their 2:30pm outbound train on Sunday, ruining their plans to spend New Year’s Eve at a theme park and staying at a non-refundable Paris hotel they had booked for Saturday evening. is what happened.
Carrera, who works for cosmetics company L’Oréal, told the PA news agency: “We actually got married in October and had been planning this trip even before we got engaged.
“So we wanted to leave today because we’ve been in London since Wednesday and we were actually planning on going to Disney Paris tomorrow, New Year’s Eve.
“So obviously that plan was ruined because I won’t be able to get to Paris tomorrow until about 6pm. I’m going to. It’s just one of those things.”
Network Rail Scotland says speed restrictions will be in place on the West Highland line from 10am today to 9am tomorrow due to the forecast.
Strong winds are also expected in the UK as the country prepares for snow and traffic problems over the final weekend of the year.
A yellow weather warning for ice is expected to remain in place until 10am on Saturday in the north and north-west of Scotland.
A similar warning for rain and snow was issued for much of Scotland on Saturday.
The warning will be in place from 8am until midnight on Saturday, with up to 25mm of rain expected in low-lying areas.
Periods of sleet and snow turning to rain can lead to flooding and travel disruption.
The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for parts of Northern Ireland with rain expected to fall until 11am on Saturday, with 15 to 25mm of rain expected to fall over the next few hours.
Rain is also possible in the west of Northern Ireland on Saturday morning, before damp winds push in to the east and north-east.
Strong winds are also expected in London and parts of the south-east, east and south-west of England and Wales on Saturday, with a yellow warning for strong winds in place until 3am on New Year’s Eve on Sunday. .
“Widely widespread wind gusts of 45 to 50 mph” are possible, but the strongest winds “may occur near the west and southern coasts, with gusts of 65 to 75 mph in some locations.” says the alert.