Eurostar disruption continues during Olympics after rail vandalism

Eurostar passengers faced further disruption on Saturday due to a string of arson attacks on the French rail network, coinciding with the start of the Olympics. International rail operator Eurostar, based in London St Pancras, has announced that one in four trains will not be able to run over the weekend.

The unfortunate news meant four journeys from London to Paris were canceled on Saturday, with disruption expected to continue until Monday. Eurostar has issued an advisory advising travelers to consider postponing their journeys if feasible.

The said outage coincides with the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics, a time when many were gearing up for summer holiday getaways. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those affected on Friday; Originally intending to take the Eurostar for the opening ceremony of the Games, he ended up flying to Paris.

A series of incidents until Friday adversely affected travel to and from London, Belgium and various parts of France: west, north and east, French rail company SNCF reported. In a report by the Associated Press news agency, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal noted that the vandals strategically targeted the main routes to Paris.

Afterwards, Mr Attal warned reporters of “massive consequences”, predicting “hundreds of thousands” of people who would be stranded trying to get to Paris either for the Games or for holidays.

As far as the British Olympic Association is concerned, the majority of Team GB athletes should have arrived at the Games via Eurostar. Only two athletes were expected to arrive on Friday and fortunately only experienced minor delays, the statement said.

The company said customers are being notified by email, text and on the Eurostar website.

Passengers who have been affected by the disruption can cancel or refund their tickets or change their journey free of charge.