Saturday brought more misery to New Year's travellers when flooding in southern England's tunnels caused the cancellation of Eurostar trains—the second such setback in ten days.
St. Pancras station in London was left with hundreds of people waiting as Eurostar apologised to its customers. The 29-year-old bride and 31-year-old groom, Christopher, and their New Year's Eve plans to go Disneyland Paris were "ruined" after they returned from their honeymoon in New York. According to Carrera, "Now we won't enter Paris until around 18:00 tomorrow." This means that the French capital will not be entered until that time. He continued by saying they would just take a leisurely walk around town.
On their way back home, another Sydney couple, Georgina Benjamin (26 years old) and Christina David (25 years old), planned to make a stop in Paris. According to David, who is "disappointed, angry, sad" at the current housing crisis, "there are a lot of people crying" because they have nowhere to go.
The French unions' violent strike, which had been blocking the passage of travellers and cargo, was finally ended just days before Christmas. Following that, this incidence took place. The unanticipated walkout of workers blocked the tunnel, causing hours of chaos at train terminals in London and Paris. On December 22, after negotiating with unions, Eurostar train services were restarted. "Results that we are satisfied with" were the negotiating goal, according to the unions. There is no such thing as a Saturday that is immune to travel delays caused by things like strikes and bad weather. Travellers leaving for France in April saw Dover wait times of sixteen hours or more due to weather and more passengers than expected. The home secretary at the time, Suella Braverman, denied that Brexit was to blame for the setbacks.
Flights and ferries were forced to cancel in November due to Storm Ciaran, while in August, flights to and from the UK were affected by a technical fault affecting air traffic control systems. Travellers have felt the effects of both the cost-of-living problem and the nearly year-long strike by rail workers. While the RMT rail union has already approved a wage settlement, the ASLEF, the union representing the drivers, has not yet done so as of last month.
Eurostar is owned by the French state-owned SNCF Voyageurs at the tune of 55.75 percent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company's shareholders—including the French government—contributed €290 million to ensure its survival. /BGNES
