- Written by James Gregory & Doug Faulkner
- BBC news
Eurostar flights to and from London St Pancras International have been suspended due to flooding in the tunnel as the festival chaos continues.
Southeastern Airlines’ express flights to Ebbsfleet have been canceled until the end of the day, while staffing shortages are causing delays elsewhere.
Travel journalist Simon Calder said St Pancras was in “a state of chaos”.
People who had planned to take a New Year’s trip to Disneyland were left in tears after the service was cancelled.
Eurostar, which operates flights from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, warned of “significant delays” due to flooding in the tunnels under the River Thames.
At least 14 services have been canceled so far. In a reply to one of its customers on social media, Eurostar said it was “awaiting further information” about the upcoming service.
image source, southeast
Flooding in the Thames Tunnel causes major disruption to train services from London St Pancras International Airport
Separately, staffing shortages have caused major disruption to Thameslink services across London and the south of England.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind, rain and snow for much of the UK.
Network Rail Scotland said speed restrictions will be in place on the West Highland Line from 10am GMT until 9am on Sunday due to weather forecasts.
A yellow warning for rain will be in place for most parts of Northern Ireland until 11am on Saturday. A similar warning will be in place in Wales from 10am.
Forecasters said homes and businesses could be flooded and power could be cut off.
This comes days after Storm Gerrit left thousands of households without power and caused chaos across the country.
A yellow warning for rain and snow has been put in place for much of Scotland, in effect from 8am until midnight, with up to 25mm of rain expected to fall in low-lying areas.
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for strong winds has been issued for Wales and southern and eastern England, which will remain in place from 11am to 3am on Sunday.
Widespread gusts of 45 to 50 mph (80.5 km/h) are expected, with the strongest gusts of 65 to 75 mph likely in coastal areas of western and southern England.
People are being urged to prepare for power outages as well as delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.
Earlier this week, Storm Gerrit caused widespread disruption across Scotland and northern England.
A localized tornado ripped through Stalybridge in Greater Manchester on Wednesday, destroying roofs and destroying walls.
