News

Eurostar trains will be running from St Pancras at "nearly 100 percent capacity" by the end of the week and from today (22 September) four in five of the high-speed trains will be running, although passengers could still face delays to their cross-Channel journey, the company said.

Fifteen daily services will run between Britain and continental Europe, up from 12 this week, after traffic was cut by the massive September 11 fire in the tunnel which carries Eurostar trains, shuttle services and freight.

But the company warned in a statement that "even if Eurostar traffic overall will be back up to 80 percent, journey times and waiting times in stations could be longer than usual." Cross-Channel traffic is currently running through the southern tube of the tunnel, which was spared by the fire.

The operator Eurotunnel said it hopes to re-open the undamaged section of the fire-hit north tube by early next week.

Police were expected to wrap up their inspection of the fire-hit section by Tuesday, according to officials close to the investigation, but it will still require weeks of repairs.

The two tubes normally carry traffic in opposite directions, but there are crossover points between them allowing trains to switch from one to the other.