Passengers have been told not to travel on the Eurostar unless it’s essential as the heatwave continues to cause chaos.

The transport operator said it is experiencing severe disruptions due to a power issue at Gare du Nord in Paris.

The services affected include trains to and from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet and Ashford.

Pictures show thousands of commuters stuck at the station in London.

Train services in the Netherlands and Belgium have also suffered major disruption due to technical problems caused by the record-breaking heatwave.

Paris reached a staggering 42.6°C yesterday as London broke it’s all-time July record with 38.1°C.

Eurostar said in a statement: ‘Due to an overhead power issue in Paris, our traffic to and from Paris is severely disrupted and advise essential travel only.

‘Exchange your ticket for free, for a later date, subject to availability.

‘If you choose to travel, please proceed to ticket gates at the time indicated on your ticket as normal.

‘If you arrive at your destination more than 60 minutes late, you can claim compensation. Please wait 24 hours then go to compensation.eurostar.com.

‘We apologise for the inconvenience and we thank you for your patience.’

This comes after Eurostar passengers travelling to London had to be evacuated from their train in Belgium after getting ‘trapped’ in 40°C when the air con broke.

The service experienced a power failure on the line and had to be stopped between Halle and Tubeke for two hours.

Around 600 passengers were on the train at the time and pictures posted online showed many lining up alongside the train tracks.

Commuters have also been advised to avoid travelling unless their journey is essential this morning as yesterday’s heatwave continues to cause chaos.

The UK’s rail network struggled to cope with the high temperatures with rails buckling and overhead cables being damaged.

The worst-affected train companies are Great Northern, Thameslink and East Midlands.

Holidaymakers and business people have also been hit by delays and cancelled flights at Heathrow and Gatwick.

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