Updated at 2.30pm
"A bearded man is a bearded man. Three bearded men, that's three bearded men". The fires that last night affected several stations along several TGV lines controlling signalling and points - at junction points no less - are reminiscent of this famous line by Audiard in the film of the same name The Barbouzes. From deliberate acts of malice, "concomitant "according to SNCF which Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete has described as "a major step forward".criminal activities" The ultra-left was the most frequently cited motive for this coordinated attack.
250,000 passengers are affected today and almost 800,000 customers are likely to be affected by these attacks throughout the weekend, according to Jean-Pierre Farandou, the CEO of SNCF, who told BFM that " it's the great departures that are under attack, it's the French that are under attack" . "Thousands of railway workers will be mobilised to repair, welcome and guide customers." he said.
LGV lines Atlantic, North and East are the worst affected, while another act of malice has been foiled on the South East line, according to SNCF. Fires in Eure-et-Loir and in the Arras area have interrupted traffic on the lines between Paris, Tours and Le Mans, as well as between Paris and Lille. Traffic on the Grand Est line has been severely disrupted after Reims and Châlons-en-Champagne.
" We are diverting some trains on the classic lines, but we are going to have to cancel a large number of them." warns SCNF. With this in mind, SNCF Voyageurs is currently advising its customers on the Atlantic and Eastern lines to " postpone their trip" At the same time, they announced that they would be able to exchange their ticket free of charge or get a refund. " Customers will be informed by text message when their train is running".says the company, urging passengers not to come to the station if they have not been informed of their train's departure.
With some trains being postponed on conventional lines, SNCF announced delays for the Inoui and Ouigo TGVs, with Eurostar traffic also being disrupted. At mid-morning, Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, explained that " in the North and East, trains are running between 1.5 and 2 hours late, with some trains also having to be cancelled. The station most affected is Paris Montparnasse, on the way to Brittany and the South West, where no traffic is expected until 1pm." . " We're doing everything we can to improve the transport plan step by step" he said.
In the early afternoon, SNCF updated its transport plan, citing " a partial and very gradual resumption of traffic" . Traffic resumed from 1pm on the LGV Atlantique with " one train in three to Brittany and New Aquitaine " delays of between 1h30 and 2h are expected. Delays of 1? to 2 hours, as well as cancellations, are also expected on the northern route. Repairs on the Eastern route have enabled traffic to resume more quickly, with normal service to Metz and Nancy. On the other hand, TGVs to Strasbourg are running with delays of 1 hour and some cancellations.
Whatever happens, it will still take some time for the repairs to be finalised, and SNCF expects traffic to continue to be disrupted this weekend. Jean-Pierre Farandou, interviewed mid-morning, explained that the intervention plans were ready. We'll probably need a couple of days to get everything back under control. We'll do better if we can. But there's an enormous amount of work involved, a meticulous repair job, cable by cable..., wire by wire, then carry out tests to make sure that when the trains start up again, everything will go smoothly" .
SNCF update on disruptions ( Travel information) and the station notice board (Stations and services).
