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The train company stated it intends to run a full schedule on Wednesday, though it warned that passengers should still expect potential residual delays after a major power supply issue that halted all train traffic in the undersea link linking London to the European mainland.

This update followed in the wake of chaos for holiday-season passengers, many of whom forced to rush to find alternative arrangements after the company postponed all services connecting key European capitals.

"Operations have resumed today due to a power issue within the tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure during the night," the company announced. "Our intention is to run all of our services on Wednesday, but due to ripple effects some delays and possible last-minute cancellations."

Widespread Impact and Stranded Passengers

Earlier, the service urged customers to consider postponing their journeys alerting them to the risk of severe delays along with abrupt service cuts.

Interestingly, Eurostar's website showed that some routes within mainland Europe which do not use the Channel tunnel—for example trips connecting Paris and Brussels—were also cancelled during the day.

The root of the problem was identified as a power supply problem, made worse by a separate incident: a failed LeShuttle train within the 31-mile (50km) undersea rail link between the English coast and northern France.

The consequence was scenes of large groups of stuck passengers, luggage in hand, building up at major hubs like London’s St Pancras International station and the Gare du Nord in Paris, their end-of-year holiday plans suddenly uncertain.

Unprecedented Popularity and Growing Competition

The disruption occurs at a time when the company enjoys unprecedented demand. A record nearly 20 million travelers used the service in 2024, a rise of nearly 5% over the previous year, fueled largely by demand from visitors to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Ever since its inauguration over thirty years ago, the operator has maintained a monopoly on passenger rail services via the Channel link. Yet, this dominance is being challenged. The Virgin businessman Sir Richard Branson has pledged to launch a competing train line. Additionally, the Italian rail firm Trenitalia has announced its plan to compete against the incumbent on the lucrative Paris-London route before the end of the decade.

A Pattern of Operational Issues

Tuesday's incident compounds existing complaints directed at Eurostar, particularly over its high fares on routes like London-Paris.

It is far from the first occurrence. Just in August, an electrical fault forced the cancellation of multiple trains and caused severe delays on other routes. Earlier, in June, the theft of critical cables from railway lines in France caused two full days of major problems.

For clarity, the vehicle shuttle service, which operates car-carrying trains from Folkestone and Calais, was also affected due to the broken-down shuttle within the tunnel.