EUROSTAR trains to and from Paris’ Gare du Nord came to a standstill after an unexploded World War II bomb was found on the tracks, French police confirmed.
Workmen doing overnight maintenance raised the alarm on Friday morning after spotting the device “in the middle of the tracks”.
GettyThe discovery of a WW2 bomb has caused morning traffic chaos to and from Paris’ busy Gare du Nord train station[/caption]
AFPThe disruption has affected local metro services and national and international trains, including Eurostar[/caption]
At least six departures have been cancelled on Friday morning
A local railway line spokesman said the bomb was found in Saint Denis, a suburb of Paris.
“The site of the bomb is around two kilometers [less than two miles] from Gare du Nord, so the decision was taken to shut the line in both directions.
“All services have been cancelled, and there are currently long delays.
“A bomb disposal squad is at the scene, and attempting to make it safe.”
The area has been evacuated, and people are being warned not to go near the area, said the source.
The disruption has affected local metro services as well as national and international trains, including Eurostar and TGV.
Eurostar stated in an update that “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.”
The company’s website shows at least four scheduled departures to London St Pancras International were cancelled as police worked to neutralise the device.
French railway company TER said on X: “An unexploded bomb from the Second World War was discovered near the tracks.”
According to RER B’s most recent dispatch, traffic has been postponed until at least 10am local time.
Passengers could exchange their tickets for free to travel on another date or time in the same class, subject to availability, according to the train operator.
The Gare du Nord is a major European transit hub, serving international destinations north of France as well as the main Paris airport and many regional commuters.
Around 700,000 people use the busy station every day, meaning thousands of journeys were disrupted by the bomb.
Gare du Nord was extensively used by occupying German forces during the Second World War, up until the liberation of Paris in 1944.
Before then, the area around it was regularly bombed by the RAF and the American Airforce, as were factories in the Paris suburbs.
Ordnance from both World Wars is still regularly found around France, especially in building works, and is known as “the Iron Harvest”.
The last major air raid on Paris was in 1944, meaning train are likely to have been passing over or close to the bomb for more than 80 years.
Almost 70,000 men, women and children were killed by mainly Allied bombing during the Second World War, as 1500 cities and towns were regularly attacked.
The bomb found today is likely to have been linked to the April 1944 raid on Paris-La Chapelle, around Gare du Nord, which saw 670 people killed, and 377 wounded.
It was carried out by 270 RAF Arvo Lancaster and 22 Mosquito bombers, and also led to the widespread destruction of property.
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