Christmas cross-channel train services resume after unions end wildcat strike

Passenger and freight traffic using the underwater tunnel between France and England was expected to return to normal schedules on Friday following an agreement between tunnel operators and unions over end of year bonuses.

Thousands of travellers on Eurostar and Eurotunnel had their Christmas holiday plans upended on Thursday when French workers staged a one-day strike seeking more cash for Christmas from tunnel operators. 

Around 30 trains out of London, Paris and Brussels were cancelled with some Eurostar trains returning to Paris just before reaching London.

Eurostar passenger Sonia Kapur told the Reuters news agency: "We were probably half an hour from reaching London and suddenly, we hear this announcement.

"They said: 'There's a strike, we have to go back to Paris.' So that was devastating, because we have a lot of plans," added the 50-year-old American.

The action – condemned by the French Transport Minister Clement Beaune as unacceptable – took advantage of a loophole in French labour laws which say unions must give 48 hours warning before a strike. However, the rules do not cover unions operating at the tunnel.

Solutions

After Beaune urged a quick solution to the halt, Eurotunnel announced that LeShuttle services – on which passengers and lorry drivers stay in their vehicles – would resume on Thursday night.

Getlink GETP.PA, the operator of the cross-Channel tunnel used by Eurostar, said the strike had resulted in an interrupted service and the closure of terminals in France and Britain.

The company said trade unions had rejected a bonus payment of 1,000 euros announced by management, demanding that the amount be trebled.

Unions said in a statement they had asked for a better share of the profits after good traffic figures this year.

The group's revenue was up 36 percent to 1.4 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year.

More than 1.1 million trucks and more than 2 million passenger vehicles have crossed the Channel aboard the shuttle service so far this year.

Hailing the end of the action, Beaune said on X: “I salute the spirit of responsibility of all concerned,.