France high-speed train network hit by ‘massive attack’ as Olympics gets underway | Latest updates
Jul 26, 2024 01:52 PM IST
French train be disrupted: France’s high-speed TGV network has been a victim of acts of vandalism on the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern lines.
French train disrupted: Hours ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, the French railway company SNCF on Friday said the high-speed TGV network has been hit by a series of “malicious acts” aimed at paralysing its high speed network.
An InOui high-speed TGV train is parked on the Charenton-le-pont railway yard in Paris on February 16, 2024. French railway company SNCF suffered a massive attack of sufficient magnitude to paralyze its TGV network on the night of July 25, 2024 to July 26. (AFP)
The SNCF urged all travellers to postpone their journeys. Repairs were underway but traffic would be severely disrupted until at least the end of the weekend. Trains were being sent back to their points of departure.
“Last night, the SNCF was victim of several acts of vandalism on the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines. Fires were deliberately set to damage our installations,” the SNCF said in a statement.
Vandals target France’s high-speed rail network: Top updates
According to SNCF, lines in the west, north and east of France were affected.Trains to neighbouring Belgium and to London under the English Channel were also affected.Government officials denounced the incidents hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which are happening around France, though there was no immediate sign of a link to the Games.National Police said authorities are investigating what happened. French media reported a big fire on a busy western route.Many French families are also heading on summer vacation Friday.The coordinated strikes on the rail network will feed into a sense of apprehension ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony in the heart of Paris later on Friday.There was immediate claim of responsibility and no indication of whether the action was politically related.France is rolling out an unprecedented peacetime security operation to secure the event, with more than 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 2,000 private security agents deployed. Snipers will be on rooftops and drones keeping watch from the air.Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete described the acts as criminal. The Paris Police chief said he was beefing up security yet further at the capital’s main stations.Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera condemned the vandalism.At the Gare de L’Est, traveller Corinne Lecocq said her train to Strasbourg on the border with Germany had been cancelled. “We’ll take the slow line,” she said. “I’m on holiday so it’s OK, even if it is irritating to be late.”
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)
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