LONDON ? Relieved passengers stepped off the first Eurostar trains in nearly four days on Tuesday, but thousands more waiting to travel were angry at the prospect of having their Christmas holidays ruined.

The first of the distinctive yellow, silver and blue trains to edge into Saint Pancras International station in London was greeted by a horde of camera crews and photographers.

Eurostar services were brought to a halt on Saturday after freezing weather in northern France caused five trains to break down in the Channel Tunnel, stranding 2,000 passengers for the night, under the sea.

People arriving Tuesday at the refurbished Victorian-era station breathed a sigh of relief at finally completing their journey, after spending days stuck in Paris or Brussels.

"For a while, I thought my Christmas holidays were going to be ruined, so I am very happy to have got here today," said Harry Kemp, a 33-year-old student, who had originally been due to return from Paris on Sunday.

"It has been frustrating. I went to the station in Paris every day to find out what was happening, with all my luggage, only to find out each time the trains were cancelled.

"But today, everyone was just happy to be on the train and I don't think anyone had any fears about being in the tunnel."

Emma England, 23, had pinned all her hopes on Eurostar trains resuming on Tuesday because her plan B -- to take an easyJet plane home from the French capital -- was ruined when the flight was cancelled amid snow and ice.

"When that happened yesterday I didn't have much choice. So if I hadn't got through today I might have had a lot of problems," she said, before heading for another train to take her to her family in Watford, northwest of London.

But while the first trains arrived, people waiting to travel from Saint Pancras were told that only ticket-holders from last Saturday and Sunday would be allowed to travel from London on Tuesday.

That left hundreds of people with tickets to travel on Tuesday angry that they had not been informed.

Mauricette Nayale, a 48-year-old nurse who was trying to return to Brussels to see her family for the holidays only found out when she got to the station that her ticket for Tuesday would only allow her to travel 24 hours later.

She said: "It is really an unacceptable situation. Eurostar took all my details when I booked, but I have not received a letter or an email to tell me what was going to happen today.

"The information from them has been non-existent. They should have done more for us. There aren't even any hot drinks provided for us here and it is freezing."

Stephanie Peltier, a 39-year-old university teacher, and her husband were forlornly leading their six-year-old daughter away from the station, and back to the London hotel where they have been forced to prolong their stay.

She said: "We wanted to travel to Paris today, but we have been told it's impossible. The level of information from Eurostar has been terrible.

"We receive 27 emails a week telling us about their special offers, but when this happens we get nothing. It's not good enough.

"Eurostar have said they will pay for the extra nights in the hotel, but that is the least they can do."