Eurostar has "strongly advised" passengers to postpone their journeys after suspending its cross-channel services from the UK to France due to a power supply issue.
The high-speed train operator said the Channel Tunnel had partially reopened on Tuesday afternoon on its website, but trains were running with "severe delays and possible last-minute cancellations".
Services were entirely suspended on Tuesday morning, when a representative said they did not know when services would resume and declined to comment on the number of passengers affected by the disruption.
The suspension is expected to cause severe disruption during the busy end-of-year holiday season in Europe. Images shared on social media showed crowds of passengers waiting with luggage at St Pancras station in London.
Eurostar said the supply problem had also caused a train to break down, adding to delays. The train was among those that carry vehicles between Calais in northern France and Folkestone in south-east England, known as LeShuttle. Long queues of cars formed in Folkestone waiting to board.
“Please don’t come to the station unless you already have a ticket to travel," Eurostar said on its website. “We regret that trains that can run are subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations. Please check for live updates on the status of your train on the train status and timetables page.”
Eurostar runs trains from London's St Pancras station to cities including Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
A record 19.5 million passengers travelled on Eurostar last year, up nearly 5 per cent on 2023, driven by demand from visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France since it opened in 1994.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson, the man behind the Virgin airline, has vowed to launch a rival service. Italy's Trenitalia has also said it intends to compete with Eurostar on the Paris-London route by 2029.
