All Eurostar trains between London and Paris are cancelled after an unexploded Second World War bomb was found near train tracks.
Thousands of passengers face disruption as the operator halted 10 services on Friday morning.
All trains between London and Paris will remain suspended for the rest of the day.
Pictures from Gare du Nord show long queues of stranded travellers, while a large crowd gathered outside the check-in area at London St Pancras.
The bomb was discovered at around 4am by workers in Saint-Denis, north of central Paris.
Passengers at St Pancras International. Image: PA
Bomb disposal experts are at the site for the ongoing operation.
French transport minister Philippe Tabarot advised Sud Radio that there is no risk to people near the train stations.
Unexploded First and Second World War bombs are occasionally found in France but extremely rarely in such populated areas.
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Eurostar apologised for the disruption and stated that affected passengers could exchange their ticket for free for travel on a different date or time.
Passengers stranded at St Pancras. Image: PA
SNCF, France’s national train operator, requested that travelers delay their journey and confirmed that services would resume at the request of the police.
Trains to northern France from Gare du Nord have also been halted, affecting Europe’s busiest station outside Japan.
Fridays are peak travel days for Eurostar.
Passengers wait in Gare du Nord. Image: Reuters
Journey Plans in Limbo
Traveler Lee Bailey arrived at Gare du Nord to find hundreds waiting for news about the unexploded bomb.
“It’s a new situation for me,” he said, noting the professionalism of the staff.
“There were many quiet people awaiting further instructions,” he added.
At St Pancras, Charlotte Kidd, traveling for her 30th birthday to Disneyland Paris, remained hopeful of reaching her destination.
“We still have two hours. If not, we’ll try an alternative route,” she stated.
Emma Roe and her group of eight friends were looking into flights. Lauren Romeo-Smith sought alternative routes for her birthday group’s weekend getaway.
Five of British Airways’ six flights from Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Friday afternoon are fully booked.
A ticket for the partially available 6.20pm flight costs £264.
Eurostar offers the option for affected passengers to exchange their tickets for a different travel date or time within the same class without charge.
Trains between London and Brussels are not affected.
