Eurostar passengers face five-hour queues in Paris as French customs protest rumbles on
Eurostar continued to warn people not to travel through Paris and London on Tuesday as the ongoing work-to-rule protest by French customs officers continued to cause havoc to travel plans.
READ ALSO: Eurostar chaos LATEST: Paris passengers advised not to travel until April
Several trains on Tuesday and Wednesday have been cancelled as there are reports of delays of up to five hours at Paris' Gare du Nord station.
Eurostar has told its passengers not to travel 'unless absolutely necessary' on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A statement on the company's website on Tuesday said: "All Eurostar trains are experiencing delays and long queues for journeys from Paris Nord due to industrial action by French customs until March 20th.
"These delays impact our planned timetables and cause subsequent cancellations.
We recommend not to travel unless absolutely necessary."
Two trains have been cancelled on Tuesday - the 07:04 from Paris to London St Pancras and the 21:03 from Paris to Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras - and three on Wednesday - the 07:04 from Paris to London St Pancras, the 08:37 from Paris to London St Pancras and the 21:03 from Paris to Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras.
?Eurostar Paris update 19.3?
9:40 | Latest update |
Situation currently extremely complicated!
Queue times severely up on yesterday : 4-6h.
The Eurostar teams are doing their best to help where/when possible & get you back to UK at some point. #Eurostar #Eurostardelays
— LawrencePNO (@LMEEurostar) March 19, 2019
Eurostar's manager at Gare du Nord said the situation was "extremely complicated" and warned that queue times were even longer than those seen over the last week.
-
READ ALSO: Q&A - What is the French customs officers' protest all about?
-
Schools, transport and hospitals; How Tuesday's national strike in France could affect you
Passengers travelling from Paris can change their ticket to a future date for free, or claim a full refund, Eurostar added.
The industrial action has caused traffic havoc over the last two weeks for Eurostar passengers at Paris Gare du Nord and Lille Europe, the port of Calais and the entrance to the Channel tunnel which links France and Britain.
The customs agents are demanding an increase in overnight pay, a danger allowance, and more staff and resources to help with greater controls that will be put in place once Britain breaks away from the European Union, currently scheduled in just over two weeks.
French unions representing the around 17,000 workers on Wednesday rejected a 14 million-euro ($15.8 million) budget boost offered by the government as it was "not sufficient compared to the agent's demands", Jean-Marc Jame of the CFDT union told AFP.
"When divided by the number of agents, there is not much left," he said.
Eurostar has also announced a reduced timetable for "operational reasons" until the end of March.
Comments
See Also
READ ALSO: Eurostar chaos LATEST: Paris passengers advised not to travel until April
Several trains on Tuesday and Wednesday have been cancelled as there are reports of delays of up to five hours at Paris' Gare du Nord station.
Eurostar has told its passengers not to travel 'unless absolutely necessary' on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A statement on the company's website on Tuesday said: "All Eurostar trains are experiencing delays and long queues for journeys from Paris Nord due to industrial action by French customs until March 20th.
"These delays impact our planned timetables and cause subsequent cancellations.
We recommend not to travel unless absolutely necessary."
Two trains have been cancelled on Tuesday - the 07:04 from Paris to London St Pancras and the 21:03 from Paris to Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras - and three on Wednesday - the 07:04 from Paris to London St Pancras, the 08:37 from Paris to London St Pancras and the 21:03 from Paris to Ebbsfleet International and London St Pancras.
?Eurostar Paris update 19.3?
— LawrencePNO (@LMEEurostar) March 19, 2019
9:40 | Latest update |
Situation currently extremely complicated!
Queue times severely up on yesterday : 4-6h.
The Eurostar teams are doing their best to help where/when possible & get you back to UK at some point. #Eurostar #Eurostardelays
Eurostar's manager at Gare du Nord said the situation was "extremely complicated" and warned that queue times were even longer than those seen over the last week.
- READ ALSO: Q&A - What is the French customs officers' protest all about?
- Schools, transport and hospitals; How Tuesday's national strike in France could affect you
Passengers travelling from Paris can change their ticket to a future date for free, or claim a full refund, Eurostar added.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.