The company Eurostarwhich operates trains linking the United Kingdom with continental Europe through the Eurotunnelhas announced the cancellation of all its services this Saturday to and from London por the closure of a track on its high-speed route due to flooding on the tracks.

“Due to the flooding of a tunnel on the high-speed line near London, we have to cancel all trains to and from London this Saturday, December 30,” Eurostar explained in a message on its social networks.

The water company Thames Water has detailed that the reason for the flooding, in a tunnel under the river Thames near the Ebsfleet International station (east of London), it was probably due to a failure in “the fire control system”, and not the breakage of one of its pipes.

A video distributed by Southeastern Railways shows the tunnel flooded by water that came out of a pipe from the side walls. “We apologize for the impact caused and appreciate your understanding,” says the company, which had previously announced the suspension of morning trains, but was confident of resuming the rest of the services.

Southeastern Railways, which operates on those same tracks to link London with the southeast of England, had already warned that high-speed trains are “not expected” today between St Pancras and Ashford International (near the Eurotunnel). It is unknown if they can be used this Sunday the tracks flooded today, although the railway network maintenance company has reported that this is a problem that “will take time” to resolve.

Eurostar offers travelers three possibilities: change your train to another day, cancel the reservation and ask for a voucher that will serve for 12 months or cancel the trip and get a refund.

Thousands of passengers They have been involved in scenes of chaos at London’s St. Pancras station, where Eurostar trains depart and arrive, on a day when many families had planned to travel to spend New Year’s Eve in another country.

This is the second interruption of Eurostar services in less than ten days, after the company’s workers in France unexpectedly declared a “last-minute strike” on December 21.