France’s state-owned rail company SNCF says a ‘massive attack’ aimed at paralysing the high-speed network is causing delays and cancellations.
A series of coordinated arson attacks on the train infrastructure of France’s largest rail company, SNCF, caused a significant number of trains to be re-routed or cancelled on Friday morning.
The attack disrupted the transport system on the opening day of the 2024 Paris Olympics, with delays of up to two hours, if not outright cancellations, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
“250,000 travellers were expected to travel today and 800,000 during this weekend,” SNCF told Euronews in an emailed statement Friday.
“SNCF is deploying its clients help service in major stations,” it said, adding that teams are working to carry out repairs and that customers will be informed about train traffic via SMS.
Lines across the country have been affected, particularly those connecting cities to the capital: traffic between Paris and Lille in northern France has been suspended, as has traffic from Tours and Le Mans to the southwest of the capital.
Routes in the southeast have largely been unaffected, as an attack in the region has already been “foiled”, SNCF said. As such, trains to the likes of Lyon and the Alps region are running as normal.
International travel to and from the UK beneath the English Channel and to neighbouring Belgium has also been disrupted by what SNCF called a series of coordinated overnight incidents.
Passengers at St Pancras station in London were warned to expect delays of around an hour to their Eurostar journeys. Announcements in the departure hall at the international terminus informed travellers heading to Paris that there was a problem with overhead power supplies.
The arson attacks might affect routes throughout the weekend.
Authorities are investigating the incidents. No information is available on possible perpetrators at this time.
‘Acting against the games is acting against France’
French government ministers have been quick to deplore the suspected acts of vandalism, although they said there was no immediate sign of a direct link to the Olympics.
Patrice Vergriete, France’s Minister Delegate for Transport, said on X that several TGV high-speed trains will remain disrupted over the next few days.
“I strongly condemn these criminal acts which will jeopardise the holiday departures of many French people,” he said. “A big thank you to the SNCF teams who are working hard to restore traffic conditions as quickly as possible.”
Speaking to BFMTV, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said she condemns what happened this morning in “the firmest manner”.
“It’s really appalling,” she said. “Acting against the games is acting against France, against your own side, against your country.”
The attacks have left many passengers disgruntled, with huge crowds left stranded in train stations across France.
Others have taken to social media to voice their disdain for the attackers and solidarity with SNCF’s repair teams.
“Good luck to all those affected and I hope that the perpetrators of the sabotage will be found,” wrote one user.
