French high speed train services still disrupted after sabotage

Traffic on three major French high-speed train lines remained disrupted Saturday, a day after saboteurs paralysed much of the rail network ahead of the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris.

Seven out of 10 trains will run Saturday on the three key routes with delays averaging one to two hours, the state railroad SNCF said.

Kathleen Cuvellier, speaking in the northern city of Lille, said her journey to Avignon in the south was going to be “hell” now.

Cuvellier, travelling with her two-year-old son, said she now had to take a slower train to Paris to take another one for Avignon, adding: “The travel time was four hours and now it’s going to be seven”.

Cecile Bonnefond, whose train from Lille to the western city of Nantes was cancelled, added: “One doesn’t have any choice”.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the coordinated overnight arson attacks on cabling boxes at junctions strategically picked out north, southwest and east of the French capital where the Olympics opening ceremony was staged on Friday night.

Traffic will remain disrupted into Sunday on the northern line running to Lille and Brussels, but should gradually improve on the Atlantic route to Brittany and the south-west, the SNCF said.

The eastern line to Strasbourg and Germany had largely returned to normal.

Rail workers thwarted an attempt to destroy safety equipment on a fourth line to the Mediterranean in what the SNCF rail company called a “massive attack”.

The SNCF said “agents worked all night under difficult conditions in the rain to allow improved traffic on high-speed lines affected by the acts of sabotage.”

The coordinated attacks staged at 4:00 am (0200 GMT) early Friday cut and burned fibre optic cables running along the tracks that transmit safety information to train drivers.

The attacks were well prepared and carried out by the same organisation, a source close to the investigation said.

SNCF estimated that about 250,000 passengers were affected on Friday. Junior transport minister Patrice Vergriete said 800,000 could face the fallout over the three days.

Many travellers were on their way to the French capital for the start of the Olympics, while others were hoping to travel in the opposite direction to start their summer holidays.

“Customers will be contacted by text message and email to confirm the running of their trains,” the SNCF said.