A few days before Christmas and as vacation departures begin, a surprise strike by Eurotunnel employees led to the closure of the Channel Tunnel and created panic in several European stations. The sudden announcement of the cancellation of all trains to the continent at St Pancras station in London early Thursday afternoon caused panic among all passengers waiting for their train.
French Transport Minister calls for a solution to be found “immediately”
The French Minister of Transport called on Thursday to find “immediately” a solution to the “unacceptable” surprise strike launched Thursday by Eurotunnel employees, which led to the closure of the Channel Tunnel. “The blocking of the Channel Tunnel is unacceptable. A solution must be found immediately. I am committed to it. I call on everyone to be responsible, to ensure traffic and vacation departures in good conditions,” wrote Clément Beaune on his X account (ex-Twitter).
The blocking of the Channel Tunnel is unacceptable.
A solution must be found immediately. I am committed to it.
I call on everyone to be responsible, to ensure traffic and departures on vacation in good conditions#Getlink
— Clement Beaune (@CBaune) December 21, 2023
Surprise strike by French Eurotunnel employees
According to an AFP journalist present on site, the reception and security agents at the station – who seemed just as caught off guard – even had to remove passengers who had already passed security checks and were waiting on the dock.
It’s a surprise strike by French employees of Eurotunnel, a subsidiary of the group Getlink, which caused the tunnel to close at midday on Thursday. The social movement led to “the complete interruption of service and the closure of our terminals in France and the United Kingdom,” Getlink said in a press release. Result: no more Eurostar can use the structure and the shuttles carrying cars and trucks are also blocked.
All trains canceled for Thursday
“The union organizations rejected the exceptional bonus of 1,000 euros announced at the end of the year by management and called for a strike to demand a tripling of it,” management said. As soon as the cancellation of the trains was announced, the many travelers who were planning to return to France or Belgium for the holidays from London rushed to their phones to try to change their ticket for the next day, or to book in a hurry. one of the flights still available from the British capital.
At the Gare du Nord in Paris, Eurostar employees announced on a megaphone that all trains for the rest of the day were canceled. “I had made my passport on purpose,” said Catherine, 80, visibly disappointed and upset because she was unable to join her son in London. Travelers at the bottom of the platform, like in London, had their eyes glued to their smartphones to find alternative routes.
Terminal blocked
Ed Basham, a 31-year-old British man who came to visit his girlfriend in Paris, shared his anger: “I’m going to have to sleep at friends’ houses tonight while waiting to find a solution.” Others were considering more or less complicated journeys like Catherine Leray, who planned with her family to reach Calais, via Lille, by train and then board a ferry to England.
The Lille-Europe station was much quieter. Santiago Rodriguez, a Mexican on vacation with his family in Europe, was preparing to find another solution to reach London. “Now we are going to Brussels. It’s horrible to ruin our plans like that,” he told an AFP journalist.
The situation was all the more confusing as messages in English suggested a resumption of traffic around 4 p.m. In Calais, at the entrance to the French terminal where cars and trucks board trains to reach Folkestone on the other side of the strait, long lines of vehicles, more than a kilometer long, were beginning to form.