Sabotage in France: Dutch going to Olympics face longer travel times, train cancelations
Netherlands residents traveling to Paris for the opening of the Olympic Games must take canceled trains and longer travel times into account. Arson along the French railway has crippled train traffic on Friday and is also affecting the Eurostar between the Netherlands and Paris.
Several Eurostar trains to Paris have been canceled, and those running will take 1.5 hours longer than usual, a spokesperson told ANP. “Due to coordinated sabotage in France, which has consequences for the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains to and from Paris will be diverted via the classic line on Friday.” Customers can cancel their trip for a refund or rebook it free of charge.
The French railway company SNCF reported that sabotage damaged its facilities in several places overnight and “severely disrupted” train traffic in France. The arson affects three high-speed lines - the Atlantic TGV line between Paris and Le Mans, the eastern TGV connection between Paris and Strasbourg, and the high-speed line between Paris and Lille. The rail company managed to prevent an attack on the TGV in the southeast, so that line is unaffected. SNCF expects disruptions to last the entire weekend.
The saboteurs struck at a disastrous time. The Olympic Games in Paris started this week. The opening ceremony is today.
SNCF employees are working to repair the damaged facilities. The rail company urged people not to come to the trains citations and postpone their trips.
