Eurostar services resume after major interruption

Eurostar said it would operate all services to London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam on Sunday after a day of major disruption.

Thousands' New Year plans were shattered after flooding in a tunnel under the River Thames led to the cancellation of all Eurostar services between London and Paris on Saturday.

Eurostar warned on Sunday that it could still see delays but services had resumed.

South East, which canceled its high-speed services to Ebbsfleet on Saturday, because it uses the same line as the Eurostar, will run a reduced service on the route on Sunday.

The Met Office has warned that domestic flights could be disrupted this weekend, as wind and rain sweep across the UK. A yellow weather warning for wind has been issued from 10:00 GMT until midnight for the south coast of England, south-west England and south-west Wales.

In Scotland, ScotRail said it expects disruptions, including speed restrictions, due to bad weather.

The first Eurostar train left London a few minutes late at 08:10 GMT.

On Sunday morning, Eurostar said: “Flooding in the Thames Tunnels has been brought under control by the high-speed rail network.

“There will be some speed restrictions this morning which may cause delays and stations are expected to be very busy.”

On Saturday, travelers faced expensive hotel bills, great difficulties in reaching their destination or exorbitant airfare prices. The Port of Dover said Saturday that there was no longer availability for foot passengers for the day.

Richard Thorpe, engineering director of HS1, which runs the route, apologized to customers, saying he knew the disruption to travel plans had been “devastating”, but said things were looking “much more positive” on Sunday.

He told the BBC that water had been cleared from both tunnels, and it was now a matter of getting as many trains and people through as possible.

He added that an unprecedented amount of water flooded the pumping systems, causing floods.

Stories have emerged of passengers facing difficult situations on both sides of the Channel.

A pregnant Norwich woman said she “cried for about an hour” after being stranded in Paris.

Ella Gatier, her four-year-old son Xander and his father were due to return to England after a break at Disneyland Paris.

She told the BBC on Saturday morning that the scene at Gare du Nord station was chaotic and there was no help available for affected passengers.

Ms Gatier, who is 33 weeks pregnant, said the next available train was on January 3 – the day she was due to return to work – with the hotel and alternative travel unable to be afforded.

“There are no trains, no ferries, no hotels,” she said.

“I don't have £1,200 a night to stay in Paris. I can't even take the train or any transport to Amsterdam and back home to England.

“Plus, I'm not sure if they'll let me travel at this stage of my pregnancy.”

Curt Downs, his wife, Megan, and their one-year-old son were also stuck at Gare du Nord station.

“The Eurostar staff there were completely exhausted and couldn't suggest anything to us,” he told BBC News.

Downs said an employee told them they had 4,000 passengers to help.

He added that the family spent two hours trying to find their way back to the UK, searching for ferries, car rentals and flights.

They have managed to get some last seats on a £450 flight from Paris to Manchester, with Ms Downes' mother making a five-hour round trip to take them back to their home in Bedfordshire.

Meanwhile, at London's crowded St Pancras station, emotional passengers sat on their bags, frantically trying to find alternative routes.

Christina David, 25, and Georgina Benjamin, 26, from Sydney, saw their train canceled after traveling around Europe on a budget for three weeks.

They planned to “go hard” to their final stop in Paris – where they hoped to celebrate the New Year at an expensive hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tower – before returning home.

Benjamin said she wanted to see Paris “light up” but now feels frustrated and angry.

Her friend Mrs David said: “There were a lot of people crying.” “We don't know where to go, we have nowhere to stay.”

A video clip taken inside the flooded tunnel shows water flowing onto the tracks from a pipe attached to the tunnel wall.

Thames Water had previously said it was likely a “fire control system” that caused the floods. But HS1 said the source of the flooding would be the subject of an investigation, but at this stage it had “no evidence to suggest that the firefighting system was linked to the problem in any way”.

She added that the floods were “being resolved” and that the line would operate, but with speed restrictions imposed and delays and disruption expected.

A company spokesperson said: “We understand how frustrating this has been for passengers and apologize for the inconvenience caused at such an important time of year.”