situations '' out of London , a spokesman said . They are being put on a regular train to the coastal town of Dover , England , taken across the English Channel by ferry and then by bus to Brussels or Paris , said the spokesman , who declined to be named . Eurostar is conducting a series of test trains Sunday `` to better understand the problems that have been occurring , '' the company said . `` We are committed to restoring our services as soon as possible but our key priority is the safety and comfort of our customers , '' the statement said . Those passengers affected by the breakdowns are being offered a full refund , another return ticket and 150 pounds in compensation . About 25,000 people should have been traveling on Saturday , Eurostar said . The company is not taking any new bookings until after Christmas , it announced , and is urging people not to come to the station Sunday . `` We strongly recommend that travelers whose journeys are not essential change their tickets for travel on a later date or have their tickets refunded , '' Eurostar said on
London , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Eurostar is running tests to try to figure out what caused an `` unprecedented '' six trains to break down , forcing the company to cancel all services this weekend , a spokeswoman said Sunday . The company announced later that Monday service will be halted as well to allow for more test runs . The cancellation of the England-to-France express train service stranded thousands of passengers on both sides of the English Channel on the weekend before Christmas . `` We sincerely regret having to take this decision and we understand how frustrated and disappointed travelers will be , '' Eurostar said on its Web site Sunday . Five trains with about 2,000 passengers stopped running Friday night inside the Channel Tunnel , also called the Chunnel , which runs between Britain and France . A sixth train broke down Saturday after Eurostar tried to run four trains from London to the continental mainland to prepare for the resumption of normal service . About 700 people were aboard when that train stopped in the Ebbsfleet area of Kent . Eurostar is making an effort to get about 500 people in `` emergency