French rail authority SNCF says sabotage damage 'fully' repaired

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/ France

French train services will return to normal starting Monday after being disrupted by coordinated acts of sabotage, the SNCF national rail operator said on Sunday.

Issued on: 28/07/2024 – 11:14

1 min

SNCF employees and French gendarmes inspect the scene of a suspected attack on the high speed railway network at Croiselles, northern France on July 26, 2024. © Denis Charlet, AFP

France’s national rail operator said on Sunday that repairs to its network damaged by sabotage attacks was “fully completed” and there would be “no more delays” for travellers from Monday morning.

The situation on the main western line from Paris was “practically normal” and “three out of four” high-speed TGV trains were running on the main northern line from the capital city, “without any increase in travel time from now on”, the SNCF said in a statement.

It remains unclear who carried out the three attacks overnight Thursday to Friday on rail infrastructure and if they were deliberately timed to disrupt the Olympics opening ceremony that took place later that day.

Read moreIn pictures: Paris Olympics kicks off with ambitious Opening Ceremony on the Seine

However, a message of support for the sabotage was sent to several media outlets Saturday, which also criticised the Olympics.

Tens of thousands of rail passengers struggled through a second day of cancelled and delayed trains on Saturday with 160,000 of the 800,000 people due to travel on a major holiday getaway weekend still facing cancellations.

Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said national rail operator SNCF had mobilised a hundred workers overnight to repair the damage “in difficult weather conditions” and ensure a return to normal for Monday.

During the night, “with floodlights, in the rain, they patched up the wires one by one”, said SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)