Passengers in London have been hit by chaos on one of the busiest travel days of the year - with canceled trains from Euston and a last-minute strike by Eurotunnel staff.
Tens of thousands of Christmas holidays were said to have been affected by the major disruption on Thursday.
All cross-Channel Eurostar services have been suspended from 12pm to 7pm following a last-minute strike by Eurotunnel staff at operator Getlink.
All travelers traveling between St Pancras and the continent have been urged to "postpone their journey today if possible" as photos showed huge crowds of passengers stranded at the terminal.
The strike will affect Eurostar - which operates passenger services to and from London St Pancras - and Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, which operates vehicle-carrying trains to and from Folkestone. At least 24 Eurostar trains have been cancelled.
It is also having a knock-on effect on the roads, with Kent Police temporarily closing the M20 coastal carriageway between junctions 8 and 9.
One Eurostar passenger, Janette Kadriu, wrote on social media platform X that she was due to travel on Thursday evening but was forced to reschedule for Friday.
"Everyone is expecting us for Christmas, it's virtually impossible to book anything else so close to the holidays," she wrote. "Total nightmare".
Another user criticized the striking staff, writing: "What a dirty thing to do without notice. I'm in St Pancras, lots of people waiting for information, some in wheelchairs, young families, babies in prams, many upset, all massively annoying."
Meanwhile, trains from London Euston were "severely disrupted" on Thursday after overhead wires were damaged at Hemel Hempstead.
There was also travel chaos at Heathrow Airport after two dozen domestic and European flights to and from the transport hub were canceled by British Airways due to Storm Pia.
All trains from London Euston were suspended earlier on Thursday, but Network Rail said some services began to resume shortly after 3pm.
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It says an emergency timetable will be in place when services resume on Thursday afternoon, with disruption expected.
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded outside the station after the gates were closed to prevent them from entering.
One passenger wrote on social media site
Engineers were busy assessing the damage on Thursday afternoon after a serious fault was discovered in the overhead wires at Watford Junction.
Network Rail said it was working to resolve the issue, with one of the wires supplying power to trains on the West Coast Main Line at Bourne End, Buckinghamshire.
Christmas chaos at Euston Station now! All trains canceled due to power line failure at Watford Junction - if only I was 'Driving Home For Christmas'. Bedlam! pic.twitter.com/jsgmBw8KUR
- Neil Hassall (@neilhassall) December 21, 2023
London Euston now. Passengers have been locked out because overhead lines have fallen on the tracks.
Coincidentally, this suits those who want to restrict freedom of movement and stop people from traveling #NetZero goals pic.twitter.com/0MjzXZpZRl- Francis O'Neill (@FrancisxONeill) December 21, 2023
Crews were working to get at least two of the four tracks through the area open so emergency scheduling could be implemented.
According to London Northwestern Railway, all lines through the area are currently blocked until further notice.
Replacement buses are currently running from Northampton to Milton Keynes and from Milton Keynes to Watford Junction.
While separate disruptions from Euston occurred on Avanti West Coast services from Euston to Manchester when all lines were blocked on Thursday morning after a baggage got stuck on power lines.
James Dean, Network Rail's West Coast South route director, said on Thursday afternoon: "I am sorry to the passengers affected by the overground lines crashing near Euston station and the major disruption to journeys this is causing.
"Our team of engineers are on site to assess the damage, but it is too early to know what caused it. Our focus is on solving the problem as quickly as possible.
"I would encourage people to check www.nationalrail.co.uk before traveling as we work hard to get passengers back on the road safely."
Network Rail said an earlier problem caused by a tree falling on the railway line at Newark on the East Coast Main Line had been resolved and trains were running delayed from King's Cross.
Network Rail previously told passengers in a statement: "Our technicians are working to remove a baggage stuck on the overhead power line between Stoke and Crewe."
London Northwestern services between Stafford and Crewe were also affected.
Due to a last-minute strike by Eurotunnel staff, there have been no Channel Tunnel crossings since Thursday afternoon.
A Eurostar spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, Eurostar has had to cancel all trains to and from London until further notice.
Affected customers will receive direct communication about their trip and can exchange their tickets for free or request a refund.
We are closely monitoring the situation as it evolves and our teams are currently working to minimize the impact on our customers."
It is currently not possible for passengers to reserve train tickets for Thursday departures via the Eurostar website.
A Eurostar spokesperson added: "Affected customers are receiving direct communication about their journey and we are advising travelers to postpone their journey today if possible.
"We are closely monitoring the situation as it evolves, and any further updates will be communicated as soon as possible."
Getlink, the French company that operates the Channel Tunnel, said: "Today's call for strike action by representatives of the French Eurotunnel staff unions has resulted in the complete disruption of services and the closure of our terminals in France and the UK ." The high winds caused by Storm Pia also affected train services, mainly in the north of the country, including areas across Scotland, North Wales, plus parts of East Anglia, the Midlands, the North West and North East of England.
It came as South Western Railway warned of serious disruptions on some of its services from Waterloo from Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 due to landslide repairs.
The train company advised travelers to only travel on those days if absolutely necessary.
Services affected are services running between Woking and Basingstoke.
South Western said this was because it needed access to two of its four tracks to repair a landslide that occurred in late November.
On all three days, some of the first services from London Waterloo via Woking and Basingstoke will start later each day, around 7am.
Some stations may not be served directly from Waterloo, such as Alton or Brookwood, while others only run once an hour.
Stuart Meek, Chief Operating Officer of South Western Railway, said: "This is a complex repair that our colleagues at Network Rail have been working hard to complete.
"To make further progress they need re-access to two of the four tracks in the area, which, although disruptive, is the best option available.
"As we will only have half the number of tracks available, we will have to reduce our services, just like a few weeks ago. Our advice to customers is that if their trains run between Woking and Basingstoke, they should only travel if absolutely necessary."
