Eurostar canceled: what solutions for injured travelers?

No less than 30,000 travelers remained stranded on Saturday, December 30, departing or arriving from St Pancras in London, after torrential rains infiltrated the tracks and prevented all trains of the Franco-British company Eurostar from taking their departure. This Sunday, traffic should be restored, according to the company, which is committed to meeting deadlines, but is already warning that “stations will be crowded due to the interruption of traffic”. Take a train again today or get a refund? What solutions are available to those who had to take one of the 41 trains canceled yesterday?

As of Saturday, Eurostar offered travelers the opportunity to exchange their ticket “to travel on another date or at another time, in the same travel class”, with the risk of seeing first come first served. This Sunday at 10 a.m. for example, no Paris-London flights were available during the day, but London-Paris locations still had free places. Knowing that Eurostar has already announced that it cannot operate additional trains.

Another solution: cancel the reservation and request an e-voucher, which can be used for 12 months “from the date of the canceled train”, specifies the cross-border company. This allows the traveler to postpone their trip with the certainty of being able to go to the desired country for a year. Finally, the last solution is to cancel the reservation and request a refund, which “will cover the value of your ticket, but not the reservation or exchange costs”. According to Eurostar, requests can be processed “within 28 days”. Each traveler will have “three months from your scheduled departure date” to make this choice.

What about those who had made a hotel or restaurant reservation? Eurostar has already warned that only reimbursement requests concerning “accommodation for the night”, “catering”, “transport between the station and the place of accommodation” or even “telephone calls to notify people waiting for you to destination” would be studied. The company warns that it will not “cover any other expenses.” For example, there is no question of covering expenses linked to other transport solutions, “if you have decided not to wait for the next Eurostar train”.

This Sunday, the company clarified that “at least one tunnel” could be used and “that a complete service” could be ensured. “Speed ​​restrictions will be put in place in the morning, which could cause delays,” she however warned in a press release, saying she was “extremely sorry”. On December 21, in the middle of the holiday departure period, Eurostar passengers had already been faced with numerous train cancellations due to a surprise strike which paralyzed the Channel Tunnel. The company then chartered eight additional trains to meet demand.