All Eurostar trains to and from Paris have been cancelled today (Friday 7 March), following the discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb.
Eurostar initially said it hoped trains would be running after midday, but it has since issued an update to say all trains have been cancelled to and from Paris for the rest of the day. This includes Paris-London and London-Paris services.
The bomb was discovered at around 4am by workers near the tracks in the district of Saint-Denis, north of central Paris.
Bomb disposal experts are at the site and Eurostar’s services have been suspended until at least midday, causing disruption for thousands of passengers.
The discovery has also forced the cancellation of other train services from Paris Gare du Nord station to northern France. National train operator SNCF said services at Gare du Nord would be suspended until mid-morning at the request of the police.
France’s Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said travel would be ‘strongly disrupted’ throughout the day with only limited service resuming in the afternoon.
Earlier, Eurostar said: “Due to an object on the tracks near Paris Gare du Nord, we are expecting disruption to our services this morning.
“Please change your journey for a different date of travel.”
It said passengers can change their ticket free of charge to travel in the same class on a different date.
The UK Foreign Office has updated its advice to say: “Eurostar and some French train services are disrupted, following the discovery of an object on the tracks near Paris Gare du Nord. This includes all Eurostar services between Paris and London in both directions, and some RER, regional and TGV services. Check your operator’s advice before travelling.”
