Strike halts Eurostar trains to Brussels

Almost all the Eurostar services between the UK and Brussels scheduled to run today have been cancelled as a result of planned industrial action in Belgium.

The 24-hour strike was due to begin at 10pm last night, causing considerable disruption throughout Belgium's rail network. A train due to leave London at 7.34 last night was brought forward to 5.27pm, so that it could arrive in Brussels before the start of the strike.

Today, the only Eurostar train scheduled to run between the cities will be the 7.34pm from London. All high-speed onward rail connections from Brussels are also expected to be cancelled, to destinations throughout France, Holland and Germany.

A spokesman for Eurostar said: "A revised timetable will be in operation on Eurostar's London-Brussels route, with trains running between Lille Europe station and the UK only.

"A very limited coach service will operate between Lille and Brussels and demand is expected to be high. As a result, journey times will increase significantly (by approximately two hours).

"We would therefore recommend that customers planning to travel between Belgium and the UK during this period postpone their journeys if possible."

Passengers are able to exchange their Eurostar tickets free of charge within 60 days for a journey in the next 120 days.

Eurostar services between the UK and Paris will operate normally.