2024-07-27 05:52:50
According to SNCF’s forecast the day before, on Saturday, July 27, two thirds of TGVs will run on the Brittany and South-West axes, and 80% will run on the North axis.
The start of the summer weekend saw disruptions to SNCF train traffic, while the day after France’s high-speed rail (TGV) network came under attack in a “large-scale” and “well-prepared” attack that has yet to be confirmed.
The situation is improving, but this Saturday July 27, rail traffic will still be disrupted, with two thirds of TGVs running on the Brittany and South-West axis and 80% on the North axis – all with delays of one to two hours, and normal traffic on the Eastern high-speed line, according to the SNCF forecast on Friday.
At this stage, the airline still expects disruptions on its northern axis on Sunday, while its Atlantic axis will improve.
The French National Railways (SNCF) announced late Friday that on Saturday, at the start of the numerous holidaymakers, “TGV traffic has improved” thanks to “the extraordinary mobilisation of thousands of railway workers, including more than a hundred maintenance workers”. SNCF stressed that it would ensure “all teams and accredited transport”.
Fiber optic cables cut and caught fire
During the night between Thursday and Friday, optical cables that pass near the tracks and transmit information about the safety of drivers (red lights, switches, etc.) were cut and set on fire at different points in the network. A source close to the investigation said it was a “well-prepared” operation organized by “the same agency.” A source familiar with the matter said no claims had been received.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into property damage that could harm the fundamental interests of the state, and the sabotage of automated data processing systems by organized gangs and criminal groups.
According to another source familiar with the matter, the investigation involves more than 50 gendarmerie investigators. The same source said that samples taken at different locations have been sent to experts at the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute (IRCGN) for urgent analysis.
“It’s aiming for a great crossover for the holidays”
The attack happened hours before the attack Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Paris in 2024. Although many travelers were scheduled to arrive in the capital, a lack of understanding and the D system caused huge chaos at the station early Friday morning.
“The worst affected today are the 800,000 travelers expected to return to their holiday destinations this weekend. This is a more important holiday crossover event than the Olympics,” said Patrice Vergriete, deputy to the transport minister, on Friday.
According to Bison Futé, the roads were also very congested on Friday due to the intersections during the last weekend of July.
At Montparnasse station, several employees expressed their “sorrow”.
“We have been preparing for the Olympics for months, but now, today is a disaster,” one of them lamented Friday afternoon.
“We almost cancelled our flights, but tickets for tomorrow are either too expensive or unavailable, so we’d rather wait,” said Ian Daniel and Simon Daniel, 20 and 23, two Dutch brothers who were due to travel to Bordeaux on Friday afternoon.
Special circumstances required that, at stations, SNCF agents show flexibility by allowing more people in than there were seats on the train, or by not checking tickets.
The arson attacks affected signal boxes at Courtalain (LGV Atlantique), Croisilles (LGV Nord) and Pagny-Sur-Moselle (LGV Est). However, SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou said that rail workers carrying out maintenance work at Vergini (Yonne) at night had thwarted a malicious act on the LGV Sud-Est.
Last year in January 2023, a similar vandalism incident occurred at the German LGV Est.
At the site, rail workers were mobilised to restore the facility, a difficult and demanding job as hundreds of cables needed to be replaced and inspected.
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