Passengers were stuck on a train outside St Pancras station for four hours this morning after a Eurostar train broke down.
Around 250 commuters were stuck in a tunnel after the Eurostar service, carrying no passengers, ground to a halt.
More trains were then sent to tow the two stranded services out of the tunnel.
Thousands of others travelling between London and Kent this morning were hit by severe delays due to the incident.
Many have missed flights or connecting trains to the continent and others had to redirect to Stratford and continue their journey on the Tube, where temperatures have soared well past 30C in recent days.
When the Southeastern train tried to reverse back towards Kent, it also broke down.
It comes after a record-breaking 35C day in London on Tuesday amid a blistering heatwave.
The mercury hit 35C in Kew Gardens on Tuesday afternoon, making it the hottest May day ever recorded, beating Monday’s top of 34.8C.
Temperatures are lower today but still very warm for May, with a high of 27C expected in the capital.
The scorching temperatures have brought with them severe travel disruption across the capital.
A number of services have struggled to cope with the heat, causing chaos for commuters.
Scott Brightwell, safety, planning and performance director at Southeastern Rail, said: “We're sorry to customers affected by disruption to services into London St Pancras this morning. We would urge any customer whose journey was delayed by 15 minutes or more to claim delay repay on our website.
“A Eurostar and a Southeastern train developed faults on the approach to the station, which reduced the number of lines available and meant fewer services were able to run. Services are returning to normal but with some delay.
“Customers can use their tickets at no extra cost on the Elizabeth Line and Underground between Stratford and central London, and Thameslink between Rainham and St Pancras.”
A Eurostar spokesperson said: “Earlier this morning, a Eurostar train carrying no passengers, along with another domestic train, experienced technical issues near Stratford.
“Due to the knock-on impact on the timetable, Eurostar services departing from St Pancras International are experiencing some delays. Refreshments are being provided to customers at the station.
“We take any incident involving our trains very seriously and will continue to provide further information as soon as possible.”
.png?w=600)
