Eurostar passengers urged to check travel insurance

Eurostar passengers who were stranded this week should check their travel insurance to see if they are entitled to compensation for cancellations or delays.

They should also go to www.eurostar.com, where the train operator has posted details of its compensation policy, which includes refunds for out-of-pocket expenses such as hotels and taxis.

Eurostar announced its third day of cancellations on Monday following major disruption to services last Friday night and Saturday when 2,000 passengers were stuck on five trains in the Channel Tunnel for up to 16 hours.

The train operator blamed the cancellations - which have disrupted the Christmas travel plans of thousands of passengers - on severe weather in northern France.

In a statement Eurostar said the third day of cancellations was necessary while it tested new snow screens and shields fitted to the power cars of the trains.

It added: We sincerely regret having to take this decision and we understand how frustrated and disappointed travellers will be, particularly those who have been waiting to travel for the last two days.

""We strongly advise passengers whose travel is non-essential to change their booking to a later date or claim a refund on their tickets.""

Passengers who are unable to delay their journeys might want to consider booking flights on CityJet's (www.cityjet.com) services from London City to Paris and Antwerp. The airline has added extra capacity to cope with additional demand this week.

Flybe (www.flybe.com) has also increased its capacity on flights from Birmingham and Southampton to Paris for the four days before Christmas.

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