Eurostar disruption continues amid rail vandalism ahead of Olympics
Four trains from London to Paris were cancelled on Saturday.
Eurostar passengers faced continued disruption on Saturday after arson attacks on the French rail network ahead of the start of the Olympic Games.
The rail operator, which runs international services from London St Pancras, said one in four of its trains would not run over the weekend.
Four trains from London to Paris were cancelled on Saturday, affecting thousands of passengers, with disruption expected to last until Monday.
Travellers were advised to postpone their journeys where possible.
Only a handful of seats were available to book on the remaining London to Paris Eurostar services on Saturday, while tickets for overnight coaches arriving in the French capital on Sunday morning were selling for as much as £197 through Flixbus.
The disruption came as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games got under way and as millions were expected to embark on summer getaways.
Olivia Atwell, 26, an Australian, was in tears at St Pancras on Saturday as she tried to get to Paris to watch her cousin, Amy, compete in the women’s basketball at the Olympics.
She said she had not slept since getting on a 5.40am flight from Sydney to London on Friday.
Ms Atwell, an accountant from Sydney, said: “I’ve not slept. If I don’t get a train I’ll get a flight to Paris.”
Nick Ormerod, 41, from Cambridge, was due to take his two daughters, Beatrice, eight, and Harriet, five, to see the gymnastics at the Olympics on Saturday, but their 7.30am Eurostar service was cancelled.
Mr Ormerod, who works in customer services, told PA: “We’ve had a bit of a nightmare, my two girls are budding gymnasts and they do county-level gymnastics.
“They’re obviously very disappointed, they were really looking forward to going to Paris for the first time, to go to the Olympics and see the gymnastics.”
He said his family are now having to spend the weekend in London after they were offered a different Eurostar service which would arrive in the French capital at about 11pm on Saturday, meaning they would miss their event at the games.
Among those affected on Friday was Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was to travel on the Eurostar for the Games’ opening ceremony but flew to Paris instead.
French rail company SNCF said a series of incidents overnight into Friday had affected travel to and from London, to Belgium and across the west, north and east of France.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the vandals strategically targeted the main routes towards Paris, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Attal said there would be “massive consequences”, with “hundreds of thousands” of people stuck while trying to visit Paris for the Games or holidays.
The majority of Team GB athletes were arriving at the Games via Eurostar.
The British Olympic Association said only two athletes were scheduled to arrive on Friday and had been subject to only minor delays.
The company said customers were being informed via email, text and on the Eurostar website.
Any affected passengers can cancel or refund their tickets or modify their journey free of charge.
