Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing
Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news
Up to 800,000 passengers will face travel disruption this weekend after France’s rail network was hit by a “massive arson attack” just hours before the start of the Paris Olympics.
The travel chaos comes just before the opening ceremony is set to take place on the River Seine, with up to 250,000 passengers affected on Friday.
Fires were started at key installations, bringing trains to a halt and causing the cancellation of multiple services, including those meant to be bringing sports fans into the French capital.
There have been a series of “coordinated malicious acts” said Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete, pointing to a series of fires, which have been focused on the TGV high speed train network.
SNCF – France’s rail operator – also referred to a “malicious act” on the high-speed line between Lille and Paris, in the northern Arras sector, and said up to 800,000 people would be affected over the weekend.
A spokesman for SNCF said it was the victim of “a massive arson attack to paralyse the TGV network”.
Follow the live blog below for the latest updates and news ahead of Paris 2024:
Team GB forced to eat packed lunches after complaints over Olympic village food
Alexander Butler26 July 2024 09:25
Eurostar Olympic chaos as vandals target high-speed rail tracks
Travellers from London to Paris face 90-minute delays and train cancellations on the day of the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
Overnight, vandals damaged the high-speed line between Lille in northern France on what would be one of the busiest days of the year for Eurostar trains between the UK and French capitals.
Eighteen Eurostar trains are due to run between London and Paris, but an unknown number have been cancelled.
Read more from The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder here:
Alexander Butler26 July 2024 09:18
Watch live: Olympic travel chaos as vandals target high-speed rail tracks
Alexander Butler26 July 2024 09:16
Pictured: Passengers affected by ‘arson’ attack on French rail network
Alexander Butler26 July 2024 09:15
Around 250,000 train passengers affected by ‘deliberate attack’
Some 250,000 passengers have been affected by the “massive and coordinated attack”, according to Valérie Pécresse, head of the Paris regional council.
She confirmed that all four main TGV lines leaving Paris were targeted. “I am very grateful to the SNCF staff on the South-East line who managed to put the arsonists on the run”, she said.
Transport minister Patrice Vergriete said: “All the evidence we have suggests this was deliberate.”
“The simultaneous timings, the vans found with people who fled, particularly on the south-east side, the incendiary agents found on site,” he told BFMTV.
The SNCF said for the entire weekend, “we estimate that around 800,000 passengers will be affected”.
Alexander Butler26 July 2024 09:13
Eurostar services disrupted by vandalism
High-speed trains around France were hit by several “malicious acts” Friday that heavily disrupted traffic on the day of the high-risk opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, according to the national rail company SNCF.
Travel to and from London beneath the English Channel, to neighboring Belgium, and across the west, north and east of France were affected by what SNCF called a series of coordinated overnight incidents.
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.
Sam Rkaina26 July 2024 09:06
