Eurostar has vowed to lay on extra trains before Christmas after a strike by Eurotunnel workers which disrupted services yesterday was called off.
Eurotunnel said in a statement that the LeShuttle car-carrying service through the Channel tunnel would resume gradually from Thursday night and by Eurostar passenger trains from Friday.
The protest over bonus pay caused massive disruption during the day-long strike, with about 30 Eurostar trains scheduled in London, Paris and Brussels affected.
Some trains had to return to the French capital just before reaching London, prompting the French government to call the industrial action unacceptable.
Thousands of travellers were reportedly stranded at the Gare du Nord high-speed train terminal in Paris.
Getlink, the operator of the Channel tunnel, said the strike called by French unions had resulted in an interrupted service and the closure of terminals in France and the UK.
A Eurostar statement issued at 11.30pm last night said: “We have been informed the strike by Eurotunnel staff is now over.
“We will run a normal timetable to/from London on 22/12/2023.
“We’re also running additional trains to enable as many passengers as possible to rebook their journey before Christmas.
“We’re sorry that we were unable to provide our usual service on 21/12/2023 due to circumstances outside of our control.”
Eurotunnel said: “Eurotunnel welcomes this agreement and reiterates its apologies to all LeShuttle customers as well as Eurostar passengers and rail freight operators whose traffic has been impacted by this strike.”