Stranded in Paris – information for those affected by Eurostar delays
UPDATE 21st December 2010: We’re getting a lot of hits on this post currently so to help you out here is some current information from Eurostar:
Due to the continuing bad weather, speed restrictions are in place on our high speed lines, adding up to two hours to journey times. As a result we can not operate as many trains as planned and trains are departing from our terminals as and when they become available from their inbound journey.
Tickets for Sunday19th or Monday 20th December
If you hold a booking leaving London St Pancras or Paris Nord on Sunday 19 or Monday 20 December and are not already at the station, please do not travel to the station on Monday 20 December as unfortunately we are not able to accept any more passengers for travel on Monday.
If you hold a booking leaving Brussels, please check-in one hour before your service is due to depart and you will be put on the next available train.
Our recommendation is that if you do not need to travel before Christmas, you postpone or cancel your journey and we are offering a free refund or exchange. Please see the relevant FAQ for further information
If you do need to travel before Christmas, you will be offered a seat on a train on Tuesday 21 December. The time of your new train is shown on the Eurostar website here.
Tickets for 21st to 24th December
If you have a ticket for travel between 21st and 24th December they are recommending that you don’t travel if you don’t need to. If you do need to travel before Christmas, please come to our stations one hour before your train is due to depart and you will be given a seat on the next available train. Please note that due to weather delays, we will not be operating our normal timetable, with trains departing as and when they become available from their inbound journey.
If you have been stranded, Eurostar are offering compensation as follows: From Eurostar website – We will be reimbursing reasonable out-of-pocket expenses caused by the overnight delay. This includes hotel accommodation (up to £150/€150 per room per night), transport (taxis, underground and parking) and meals.
In order to claim, please write into Traveller Care at traveller.care@eurostar.com, ensuring you attach a completed compensation form, booking reference number, scanned copies of any relevant receipts, and any other supporting information. Please make sure you also keep a copy of any receipts or tickets for your own reference.
Below is what was posted last year about the same time with similar problems:
I thought that seeing as I am one of the travellers that have been affected by the current Eurostar delays that I would write a post giving some information on what to do. The Eurostar website does not currently seem to be providing a lot of information to travellers apart from the fact that they are unsure when the delays will end. Any updates are being provided on the Eurostar website http://www.eurostar.com
There are no trains running today (Sunday 20th December). If you are in Paris now then you are entitled to 150euros each per person for accommodation and food for tonight. Iit states on the website that this is only for passengers affected on Friday and Saturday but having spoken to a Eurostar member of staff they confirmed that this will also cover travellers today (Sunday).
Tomorrow they are hoping to start running Eurostar services although there is no guarantee. We have been told that seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis, the trains normally run from 5am and you can start queuing for these trains as soon as you like (if you want to spend an evening in a freezing cold station). According to a member of staff there is only likely to be 1 train running per hour.
Some passengers are choosing to get a train / bus to Calais and get a ferry. Alternatively Eurolines are running coaches from Paris to London. Times and current prices for 1 person are shown below for the next week.
Eurolines Times from Paris to London
There is currently no advice from Eurostar as for exactly when trains will start running through the tunnel again but what is sure is that there will be a huge backlog and there will be no guarantees of when you will get on a Eurostar train.
Eurostar are providing some answers to popular questions here http://littlebreakbigdifference.com/blog/2009/12/19/responding-to-questions-about-todays-disruption/. As we find out more information we will post is here and add to out twitter feed ski-concierge.
Please be aware that this information is provided from our experience only through speaking to Eurostar staff and passengers at Gare du Nord, we have had no official communication with Eurostar Head Office.
