No Eurostar trains can run between mainland Europe and the United Kingdom on Thursday afternoon, as the Channel Tunnel is unavailable due to an unannounced strike by the tunnel staff, Eurostar announced.
All trains between Brussels and London, and Paris and London, were cancelled from Thursday at noon until at least 18:00, a Eurostar spokeswoman said. Four trains that were en route are returning to their departure stations.
In the meantime, Eurostar does not yet know whether trains will run tomorrow. The company is advising travellers to postpone their journey. More than 20 cancelled trains are listed on Eurostar's website, and Eurostar staff announced via megaphones at Paris' Gare du Nord that all trains scheduled for Thursday had been cancelled.
The strike led to "the complete interruption of service and the closure of our terminals in France and the UK," stated Getlink, which manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel. "The unions have rejected the exceptional end-of-year bonus of €1,000 and called for a strike to demand the triple."
Train operator LeShuttle, which transports vehicles and their occupants by train through the Channel Tunnel, also reported that services were suspended for the time being, due to a strike action in France.
