The first weekend of the summer holidays has been plunged into chaos as British families heading to Europe face huge delays at train stations and on motorways.
Holidaymakers are facing long tailbacks at the Port of Dover amid a ‘weekend of woe’ on Britain’s roads, while delays are being felt across the Gatwick Express and the Eurostar.
Huge queues have formed at London‘s St Pancras station after a ‘massive arson attack’ brought mayhem to France‘s rail network – hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
Several Eurostar trains to Paris have been cancelled and others diverted after ‘co-ordinated acts of malice’ on French high-speed rail lines.
The rail operator, which runs international services from London St Pancras, confirmed its trains would be delayed because of the ongoing issues over the Channel.
ST PANCRAS: Passengers queue at the Eurostar terminal after several French lines were hit by ‘malicious acts’
ST PANCRAS: Holidaymakers are facing travel chaos across Britain and France ahead of the Olympics
ST PANCRAS: A train cancellation on the Eurostar today
ST PANCRAS: Passengers sleep at the central London station as they face long delays
DOVER: Holidaymakers wait to board ferries at the Kent port as the busy summer travel period gets underway
DOVER: Port officials have said that holidaymakers are facing processing times of around 40 minutes
DOVER: Long tailbacks are seen as 3.2million drivers hit the roads on Frantic Friday
The disruption comes hours ahead of the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and as millions embark on summer getaways.
French rail company SNCF said a series of incidents overnight had affected travel to and from London beneath the Channel, to Belgium and across the west, north and east of France.
Three fires were reported near the tracks of the French Atlantique, Nord and Est high-speed lines by local media.
Eurostar said: ‘Due to co-ordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday July 26.
‘This extends the journey time by around an hour-and-a-half. Several trains have been cancelled.
‘Eurostar’s teams are fully mobilised in stations, in the call centres, and onboard to ensure that all passengers are informed and can reach their destination.’
The company said customers were being informed via email, text and on the Eurostar website. Any affected passengers can cancel or refund their tickets or modify their journey free of charge.
MANCHESTER: Passengers queue at the airport on the first weekend of the summer holidays
PARIS: Rail passengers wait inside the Gare du Nord train station amid delays after a ‘massive arson attack’ hit France’s rail networks
PARIS: Passengers sit on the floor as they wait for updates following a series of attacks
PARIS: Police officers patrol the areas after high-speed rail traffic to the French capital was severely disrupted
PARIS: Passengers wait inside the Gare du Nord train station on the day that the 2024 Summer Olympics starts in the capital
In Britain, the RAC has warned of delays all week after schools broke up for the summer holidays and they have dubbed today as ‘Frantic Friday’ with an estimated 3.2million cars set to his the road.
Thousands of cars are already stuck in long queues at Dover, with border processing times currently taking 40 minutes.
The chaos follows major travel disruption since last Friday after a flawed IT update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike knocked many global services offline.