Holidaymakers faced travel misery on Sunday as nearly half of all Eurostar services from London were cancelled, plunging the start of the summer getaway into further turmoil.
By mid-morning, six out of 15 scheduled departures from St Pancras International had been scrapped, leaving scores of passengers stranded and scrambling to salvage their travel plans.
The widespread disruption comes in the wake of what officials describe as "coordinated efforts to sabotage" the French SNCF rail network.
“Due to acts of vandalism affecting the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains to and from Paris are being diverted via the classic line,” a statement read.
“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 assist and ensure our passengers are fully informed.”
In addition, the London Overground and Piccadilly Tube line were both part closed and there were delays on four other TfL lines.
The break up of schools, the Paris Olympics starting and hot weather has enticed an estimated 13.8 million Brits to start their getaway this weekend which has led to disruption.
The RAC warned motorists leaving the capital of a "weekend of woe" with this expecting to be the busiest weekend for travel since 2022 when the UK had emerged from lockdown.
This will be only the second time since 2015 that this many people have gone on holiday on the same weekend.
RAC spokeswoman Alice Simpson said: "To avoid a weekend of woe on the roads during one of the busiest of the year, we'd advise as many people as possible to leave as early as they can to try and disperse car journeys over a longer period.
"Any holidaymakers - whether they're driving to a UK destination or heading overseas - should plan their journeys carefully and leave plenty of extra time before setting off."
On Sunday morning, all of Londons airports were showing few if any disruptions to passengers.
Parisian security officials are on high alert for any further acts of malice after the sabotage on Friday.
