Thames Water explains cause of flooded tunnel
Thames Water has issued a statement explaining the cause of the flooded railway tunnel that has caused major disruption to Eurostar and Southeastern services today.
The flooding happened at a tunnel near Ebbsfleet International station in Kent.
  A Thames Water spokesperson said it believed the incident was related to "a fire control system and not a Thames Water pipe/asset, however we have a technician on the way to offer support to control the flow of water".

"We will continue to monitor the situation and offer support where needed," the spokesperson added.

  Tragically this railway was badly damaged in heavy floods in 2006, forcing its closure. In 2016 it was reported that works would begin on its repair. The first phase being the section just outside Knysna (further away from the bridge). It is hoped that the line to George will be reopened in 2020 but sadly this looks increasingly unlikely.

  Heritage Western Cape formally declared the Kaaimans River Railway Bridge a provincial heritage site at a ceremony held at the Transnet Transport Museum on 21 October.

The bridge, a well-recognised and iconic feature of Wilderness, was completed in 1928 by inventive and ingenious engineers. It carried freight and passengers until 2006 when the line was damaged by heavy flooding and train services were suspended.
Speaking at the ceremony, John Miller, the Wilderness resident who nominated the bridge said, "We should now envision the railway line crossing a safe and preserved bridge, travelling from Knysna to George and beyond, carrying daily commuters, tourists, long distance travellers, tourists and freight, with safe bicycle and walking trails alongside.

"All that would bring jobs in planning and design, in construction and development, and in operations and services."

  The Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) rail line has broken all of its passenger records by seeing more than 800,000 journeys in one year.
The North Devon train line, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)), goes from Exeter to Barnstaple.
However, the Tarka Rail Association (TRA) said the hourly service was now reaching passenger capacity and had become "a victim of its own success".
GWR said it would continue to look at short-term solutions while lobbying for longer-term improvements.

Urgent food deliveries have been set up for the Isles of Scilly in time for Christmas after a freight ship carrying chilled foods broke down.
The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC) said the Gry Maritha returned to Penzance shortly after departure.
It said the repair was not likely to be completed until Boxing Day at the earliest.
The firm apologised for the disruption, as rival firm Harland and Wolff (H&W) stepped in to make the delivery.
H&W said it had set up a free freight service to St Mary's on Saturday.

John Wood, H&W's chief executive, said on Facebook the service was "for any emergency items and food required for Christmas".
He said only one run was possible, because of the forecasted weather conditions.
He added: "It is an unfortunate situation and difficult to deal with at this late stage with everyone shutting down for Christmas, but we are looking at all options."
ISSC said in a travel update it was "exploring all options" for the transportation of urgent chilled food to the Scilly Isles.
"Please accept our apologies for the obvious inconvenience that this has caused, and be assured we are doing all that we can to minimise further disruption to the freight service," it said. 

A new ferry is set to take passengers between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in faster journey times from next summer, its operator says.
Shipbuilder Harland and Wolff (H&W) has chartered a ship it says will come into service from May, with 90-minute trips.
Last month H&W made an approach to buy the existing operators, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC), but was "unequivocally rejected".
The ISSC ferry, the Scillonian III, is scheduled to sail from March.
H&W is calling its new arm Scilly Ferries, and said the new vessel was a catamaran that would take up to 400 passengers between Penzance and St Mary's in about one hour and 30 minutes.