Business
Eurostar services return to normal after major Channel Tunnel disruption
Thomas Mackintoshand
Claire Keenan
Getty ImagesEurostar and Le Shuttle services between the UK and France have resumed through the Channel Tunnel after major travel disruption on Tuesday.
Thousands of passengers faced hours of delays after Eurostar cancelled most of its London to Europe services due to overhead power supply problem and a failed Le Shuttle train which blocked all routes.
Repair work took place overnight and rail services through the tunnel in both directions resumed on Wednesday morning.
But Eurostar urged passengers to check before travelling as it warned for possible knock-on delays and last-minute cancellations.
Most of Eurostar’s Wednesday morning services in and out of London St Pancras have departed.
Only three – one towards Paris Gare du Nord; another destined for Brussels Midi and the other bound for Amsterdam Centraal- have been cancelled, according to Eurostar’s website.
The high-speed rail firm apologised for any inconvenience caused to passengers.
Eurostar said: “We plan to run all of our services today, however due to knock on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations.
“Customers are advised to check for live updates on the status of their train on the Eurostar website.”
Eurostar said one extra London to Paris service will run on Wednesday and that passengers are entitled to “enhanced compensation” which includes 100% refund of their ticket and 150% of their ticket price as an e-voucher.
Le Shuttle services from Folkestone are running normally following earlier delays on Wednesday morning. However, there are still delays of an hour at Calais – although down from the earlier reported six hours.
EPAThe Channel Tunnel accommodates Eurostar services as well as Le Shuttle vehicle-carrying trains between the UK and France.
Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel, said work continued through the night to fix the power issue.
The problem with the overhead power supply and the broken down Le Shuttle train blocked all routes on Tuesday.
It caused travel disruption for thousands trying to get away for New Year’s Eve as the majority of Eurostar trains from London to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels were cancelled.
Images of massive crowds of travellers stranded at London St Pancras International flooded social media following Tuesday’s power outage.
Cars that had hoped to use the Channel Tunnel caused traffic jams near Le Shuttle’s Terminal in Folkestone.
Some Eurostar and Le Shuttle services were able to resume on Tuesday evening, but delays remained as only one of the Channel Tunnel’s two rail lines were open.
However, some passengers were stuck on board trains overnight.
Dennis Van Der Steen boarded a train for Amsterdam, which departed London St Pancras at 20:49 on Tuesday.
But before the train reached the Eurostar tunnel, it came to a stop. After a six-hour wait at the entrance to the tunnel the service turned back to London.
Others disrupted passengers resorted to creative solutions to make their New Year’s Eve plans.
Floriaen Dullaert – who had been due to travel from Amsterdam to London – bought a bike in Brussels for €20, then took a train to Dunkirk and boarded a late-night ferry to Dover.

Business
Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
Business
JSW Likely To Launch Jetour T2 SUV In India This Year: Reports
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Business
John Swinney under fire over ‘smallest tax cut in history’ after Scottish Budget
John Swinney has been pressed over whether this week’s Scottish Budget gives some workers the “smallest tax cut in history” – with Tory leader Russell Findlay branding the reduction “miserly” and “insulting”.
The Scottish Conservative leader challenged the First Minister after Tuesday’s Holyrood Budget effectively cut taxes for lower earners, by increasing the threshold for the basic and intermediate bands of income tax.
But Mr Findlay said that would leave workers at most £31.75 a year better off – saying this amounts to a saving of just £61p a week
“That wouldn’t even buy you a bag of peanuts,” the Scottish Tory leader said.
“John Swinney’s Budget might even have broken a world record, because a Scottish Government tax adviser says it ‘maybe the smallest tax cut in history’.”
Raising the “miserly cut” at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Findlay demanded to know if the SNP leader believed his “insulting tax cut will actually help Scotland’s struggling households”.
The attack came as the Tory accused the SNP government of increasing taxes on higher earners, with its freeze on higher income tax thresholds, which will pull more Scots into these brackets.
This is needed to pay for the “SNP’s out of control, unaffordable benefits bill”, the Conservative added.
Mr Findlay said: “The Scottish Conservatives will not back and cannot back a Budget that does nothing to help Scotland’s workers and businesses.
“It hammers people with higher taxes to fund a bloated benefits system.”
Hitting out at Labour – whose leader Anas Sarwar has already declared they will not block the government’s Budget – Mr Findlay said: “It is absolutely mind-blowing that Labour and other so-called opposition parties will let this SNP boorach of a budget pass.
“Don’t the people of Scotland deserve lower taxes, fairer benefits and a government focused on economic growth?”
Mr Swinney said the Budget “delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland” by “strengthening our National Health Service and supporting people and businesses with the challenges of the cost of living”.
He insisted income tax decisions in the Budget would mean that in 2026-27 “55% of Scottish taxpayers are now expected to pay less income tax than if they lived in England”.
The First Minister went on to say that showed “the people of Scotland have a Government that is on their side”.
Referring to polls putting his party on course to win the Holyrood elections in May, the SNP leader added that “all the current indications show the people of Scotland want to have this Government here for the long term”.
Benefits funding is “keeping children out of poverty”, he told MSPs, adding the Budget contained a “range of measures” that would build on existing support.
The First Minister said: “What that is a demonstration of is a Government that is on the side of the people of Scotland and I am proud of the measures we set out in the Budget on Tuesday.”
Meanwhile he said the Tories wanted to make tax cuts that would cost £1 billion, with “not a scrap of detail about how that would be delivered”.
With the weekly leaders’ question time clash coming less than 48 hours after the draft 2026-27 Budget was unveiled, the First Minister also faced questions from Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar, who insisted that the proposals “lacks ambition for Scotland”.
Pressing his SNP rival, the Scottish Labour leader said: “While he brags about his £6 a year tax cut for the lowest paid, one million Scots including nurses, teachers and police officers face being forced to pay more.
“Even his own tax adviser says this is a political stunt. So why does John Swinney believe that someone earning £33,500 has the broadest shoulders and therefore should pay more tax in Scotland?”
Mr Swinney, however, said that many public sector workers would be better off in Scotland.
He told the Scottish Labour leader: “A band six nurse at the bottom of the scale will take home an additional £1,994 after tax compared to the same band in England.
“A qualified teacher at the bottom of the band will take home £6,365 more after tax in Scotland than the equivalent in England. There are the facts for Mr Sarwar.”
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