PARIS — Eurostar passengers are facing a second day of major delays and cancellations after two people died on the track in France on Tuesday, and then cables were stolen near Lille on Wednesday.

There are “severe delays and last-minute cancellations” in both directions between London and Paris. Trains between London St Pancras and Paris Gare Du Nord were either delayed or cancelled until 12:30 CEST. The predicted delays range from 40 minutes to 2 hours.

Trains that are running are also being forced to take alternative routes, causing extended journey times.

Services on the London-Brussels-Amsterdam route are running without delays.

Wednesday's delays were caused by the theft of around 600 metres of copper cables overnight, according to reports in French media. It comes after the LGV Nord high-speed line between Lille and Paris was closed for much of Tuesday following the deaths of two people on the line.

Eurostar said disruption from this first incident continued into Wednesday morning, then the cable thefts compounded the problem.

Stations in London and Paris are very busy with stranded or delayed passengers and the operator said it is handing out water to passengers on delayed trains.

“We’re deeply sorry to confirm that two fatalities occurred yesterday on the high-speed line between Lille and Paris. Disruption has continued due [to] displaced trains and a separate cable theft near Lille,” the international rail operator said in a post on X.

“SNCF Réseau teams are working hard to restore the damaged infrastructure, with one track already opened. This will allow trains to run in both directions until full repairs are completed, expected by around 4pm.”

It said that impacted passengers can change their travel plans for free or request a full refund. — Euronews