"Get me home for Christmas" say Eurostar passengers

Passengers wait at the Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras Station in London December 21, 2009.

LONDON (Reuters) - A stream of frustrated Eurostar passengers turned up at stations in London and Paris on Monday, desperate for information on how to get home for Christmas.

Philippe De Vandiere, due to have traveled on Sunday, discovered all flights home to Paris were booked until Thursday, when one-way prices trebled to about 300 pounds ($500).

The 25-year-old broker has suffered disruption with Eurostar in the past, but said, "This is the worst disruption -- and just before Christmas too."

Sonia Van Waelam, a 49-year-old from Brussels, was stranded at London's St Pancras International station having been due to return home on Sunday and be back at work at the Interior Ministry on Monday.

"We had a good time in London, but now I've had enough of it," she told Reuters. "I hope I will be home for Christmas, otherwise I will have to swim."

Trains have been suspended over the past three days after they were unable to cope with extreme winter weather. Eurostar said it hoped a partial service would resume on Tuesday.

Modifications were being made to the snow screens and snow shields in the trains' locomotives after six trains, carrying 2,500 passengers broke down, five of them in the undersea tunnel linking Britain and France.

Passengers traveling on the Eurostar between London and Brussels were also affected.

Jan Den Teuling, a 60-year-old architect, was due to travel to Brussels later this week, but said his remaining time in London would be spent making alternative travel arrangements rather than visiting tourist attractions.

"We were due to see Westminster Abbey, some museums and Notting Hill today, but I will have to spend the time trying to book a plane," he said.

"For me, this is a disappointing day. I cannot enjoy my holiday now."

In Paris, Matthew Schulte, 22, from Melbourne, Australia, had been on the train on Saturday when he was kicked-off with his friend.

"We were just here for four days," he said. "It might be two weeks."

Londoner Daniel Hill, 24, was due to have left on Monday.

"It's annoying and frustrating, especially this close to Christmas," he said.

"If the train doesn't work, the train doesn't work, but why they couldn't build a train that works in the cold."

(Additional reporting by James Regan in Paris; Editing by Keith Weir and Louise Ireland)