Eurostar has been cutting two trains a day between London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord since Monday, and the cancellations run until Thursday 25 June. At the same time, the UK Foreign Office updated its travel advice today for three of Britain’s most popular holiday destinations: Spain, France and Portugal.
If you have an Eurostar booking this week, or if you are heading to any of these three countries in the next few days, you need to know exactly what has changed and what your options are right now.
France recorded its hottest June day on record yesterday. London is expected to reach 36°C today. Eurostar says the cancellations are a direct response to “expected adverse weather on the Eurostar network” and the disruption is live as you read this.
The Key Facts
- Five Eurostar services cancelled between 22 and 25 June 2026 due to extreme heat on the network
- Affected departures include: 13:31 London to Paris on 23 and 24 June; 18:08 Paris to London on 24 June; 15:31 and 20:08 services on 25 June
- FCDO updated today: Spain, France and Portugal all carry new heatwave warnings as of 24 June 2026
- Record temperatures: Paris hit 39°C on Thursday; London 36°C today; red heat alerts across France and Spain
- Your right: free exchange or full refund if your Eurostar is cancelled, with three months to claim
What Is Actually Happening Right Now
Eurostar confirmed the cancellations on its disruptions page this week, citing “expected adverse weather” as the operational cause. This is not a strike. It is the rail equivalent of a runway closure in a storm.
When track temperatures climb high enough, steel rails expand and can buckle. Overhead power lines sag under heat stress. Both are safety-critical issues that require either speed restrictions or service cuts. Eurostar’s Channel Tunnel route runs across some of the most capacity-constrained high-speed infrastructure in Europe.
France’s national weather service placed more than 54 departments under red heatwave alerts yesterday. Meteo France confirmed Tuesday 23 June was the hottest June day ever recorded in France. The UK Met Office issued amber and red extreme heat warnings covering most of England, running until midnight tonight.
The two trains per day being cut are significant. Eurostar typically runs around 17 services in each direction on the London to Paris route. Afternoon and evening trains are the worst-affected window, which means morning travellers are in a stronger position, but available seats are filling fast as passengers rebook.
A separate Dutch national rail strike also ran from 04:00 to 08:00 today, affecting Eurostar services from Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Passengers on those services have the same free exchange or refund options as those on the heat-cancelled trains.
On the FCDO side, the warnings updated today are not travel bans. They are official changes to the safety and security sections of the gov.uk travel advice pages for each country. Spain now carries an “extraordinary hazard” red alert from national meteorological body AEMET in parts of the Basque Country. France has red warnings across most of the country. Portugal is flagging wildfire risk near tourist zones on the Algarve and in national parks.
What Passengers Are Saying Right Now
On r/Eurostar, passengers who travelled earlier this week are sharing first-hand accounts. The picture is cautiously reassuring for those with morning trains, and more uncertain for afternoon services.
“Just arrived in Paris (to 39-degree heat). There was a bit of a delay due to an issue with the train, but once we got going the journey was really smooth and the AC in the carriage worked well. There were no further delays en route.”
Comment from r/Eurostar
by u/Far_Space_1250 in r/Eurostar
“A notably warm start to the day for many, with overnight temperatures staying above 20°C in numerous areas.”
A notably warm start to the day for many, with overnight temperatures staying above 20°C in numerous areas
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 24, 2026
Here are the warmest locations from last night 👇
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️
Two Eurostar services per day will not run between London and Paris from Monday 22 June through to Thursday 25 June 2026, due to adverse weather on the network. Passengers on affected services are being contacted directly and can exchange or cancel at no charge.
What You Can Actually Do Right Now
Start by checking whether your specific service is affected. Go to the Eurostar disruptions page and look for your train number. If you are on trains 9028, 9019, 9051, 9059 or 9036, Eurostar should already have emailed you. If not, check the page directly and act before seats on alternatives run out.
- Check your email first. Eurostar contacts passengers whose trains are cancelled. The email contains your rebooking options and links to Manage My Booking.
- Rebook online at eurostar.com. Log in to Manage My Booking and select a replacement service in the same class at no extra cost. Morning services currently have more availability than afternoon trains.
- Go morning if you can. Services before midday are running normally. Afternoon departures carry higher disruption risk as track temperatures peak mid-day. If your journey allows flexibility, shifting to a morning train is the lowest-risk move this week.
- For the FCDO warnings. Check gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice before you depart. Open the specific page for Spain, France or Portugal and read the updated safety and security section. Check your travel insurer’s policy on FCDO advice changes, as some policies trigger cancellation cover when advice is strengthened.
- If you are already in Spain or France. Follow local authority guidance. Avoid being outside between 11am and 9pm if possible. France has activated its national heatwave emergency plan, with cooling centres open across cities including Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux.
- If your flight is delayed or cancelled due to heat. Heat is an extraordinary circumstance under UK261 and EU261/2004, so cash compensation for the delay itself is unlikely. Your airline still owes you care: meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation if you are stranded overnight.
What You Are Owed
For Eurostar passengers on the cancelled trains, the position is clear. Extreme weather is force majeure under Eurostar’s conditions of carriage. That means no cash compensation for the cancellation itself. But your refund rights are fully intact.
Eurostar’s Assurance Offre Passagers (AOP) scheme is activated for this disruption. You can exchange your ticket free of charge to any available Eurostar service in the same class, or request a full refund of the ticket value. You have three months from your original travel date to make the claim via Manage My Booking on eurostar.com. Refunds take up to 28 days and do not cover booking or exchange fees.
If you incurred unavoidable costs as a direct result of the cancellation, such as overnight accommodation or onward transport, Eurostar may consider these on a case-by-case basis. Document everything with receipts and submit via the traveller care form at eurostar.com.
Your Eurostar Cancellation Rights
Extreme weather is force majeure under Eurostar’s conditions, so cash compensation does not apply. Your refund and exchange rights remain fully in force.
Claim via Manage My Booking at eurostar.com within three months of your travel date.
- Free exchange to any available same-class Eurostar service
- Full refund of ticket value, excluding booking and exchange fees
- E-voucher option valid for 12 months if you prefer that over a cash refund
- Unavoidable expense claims: accommodation and transfers if stranded, with receipts, via traveller care form
- No automatic cash compensation: heat is force majeure for Eurostar and airlines alike
- Travel insurance: check whether the FCDO update triggers cancellation cover for Spain, France or Portugal bookings
Why This Is Happening More Often
Europe is the fastest-warming continent on earth, heating at twice the global average rate according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The 2026 June heatwave has already produced a record for France. Heatwaves that once arrived once a decade in western Europe are now annual features.
For rail infrastructure, heat is a structural problem. Steel track expands by roughly 1.5cm per kilometre for every 10°C rise in temperature. Original rail designs built for average UK and French summers run out of tolerance at the temperatures now regularly hitting the Channel Tunnel corridor. Overhead power lines face the same pressure.
Eurostar’s route cannot easily divert or reroute the way an airline can change altitude. The infrastructure it depends on is fixed, exposed, and crosses two countries with different safety thresholds and maintenance standards. When France issues a red alert and speed restrictions kick in on the TGV network, Eurostar’s timetable compresses accordingly.
The FCDO warnings for Spain, France and Portugal are a separate but parallel response to the same underlying trend. British authorities are now issuing formal travel guidance for destinations that were considered straightforward summer breaks a decade ago. The advice is not a reason to cancel a trip, but it is a reason to understand your insurance cover, check the latest position before departure, and plan around the hottest hours of the day.
For Eurostar specifically, the lesson for future summer travel is to book morning trains, keep your ticket refundable or exchangeable, and check the disruptions page before leaving for St Pancras. Heatwave cancellations on the London to Paris route are likely to be a seasonal pattern, not a one-off.
