French rail company SNCF warned that Friday’s disruption to local trains could last until the end of the weekend and disrupt hundreds of thousands more passengers.
A planned arson attack on three lines of the TGV high-speed network on Friday caused chaos for commuters, just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The fourth attack was stopped by the railway workers.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal described the attack as “acts of destruction”.
Around a quarter of Eurostar’s international trains were also cancelled, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer among those affected.
In a statement issued on Friday evening, SNCF said that traffic “will improve” on the affected lines on Saturday due to the work of thousands of train workers.
It said:
- On the eastern line, trains will run as normal from 06:00 (05:00 BST) on Saturday.
- On the northern line, 80% of trains will be running, with delays of 1-2 hours
- On the south-west line, 60% of trains will be running, with delays of 1-2 hours
The company added that customers whose trains are delayed or canceled will be contacted by email or text message.
Eurostar said it expected up to a fifth of services over the weekend to be cancelled, with all trains experiencing delays of up to 1.5 hours. Eurostar services use the northern high speed line.
SNCF said rail surveillance has been stepped up “on the ground and in the air,” using 1,000 staff and 50 drones.
Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said around 250,000 people were affected on Friday, and up to 800,000 could face delays and cancellations on Monday.
He added that disrupting the holiday season, rather than Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony, may have been the vandals’ intention.
“There is no connection” with the Olympics, he said in an interview.
The last weekend of July is traditionally a busy time for holiday travel.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for these incidents. A source associated with the investigation told AFP that the operation was “well-planned” and organized in a “single framework”.
Mr. Attal said the security forces are looking for those involved.
Around 04:00 on Friday, arsonists cut and burned special fiber optic cables that are essential to the safe operation of the railway line, government officials said.
One site was at Courtalain, 150km (93 miles) southwest of Paris. A photo posted online is said to show charred cables in a shallow trench and discarded SNCF protection stones.
The SNCF spoke of a “massive, massive attack aimed at paralyzing” its services, not just in Courtalain but in Pagny-sur-Moselle, a village on the eastern outskirts of Metz and Croisilles, not far from the northern city of Arras. .
Another attempted attack in Vergigny, southeast of Paris, was thwarted by SNCF workers who were preparing the area early on Friday.
Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the attack on “vital national interests”.
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