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.
French railway company TER said on X: “An unexploded bomb from the Second World War was discovered near the tracks.”
The disruption has affected local metro services as well as national and international trains, including Eurostar and TGV.
Eurostar’s website shows at least four scheduled departures to London St Pancras International were cancelled Friday morning as police worked to neutralise the device.
According to RER B’s most recent dispatch, traffic has been postponed until at least 10am local time.
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”.
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.
It 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”.
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