Thousands of passengers travelling from London to Paris are facing severe disruption on the day of the Olympic Games opening ceremony following a suspected coordinated attack on the French rail network.
According to sources close to the investigation, signals along railway lines in northern France were set on fire and cables were cut and set alight last night.
The attacks on French public transport are expected to affect 250,000 passengers on Friday, rising to 800,000 by the end of the weekend.
A Eurostar spokesperson said: “Due to coordinated acts of malice in France affecting the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains travelling to and from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today. [Friday 26 July].
“This will extend the travel time by approximately one and a half hours. Several trains have been cancelled.”
“Eurostar expects this situation to last until Monday morning. Today, Eurostar is cancelling 25% of its trains. This will also be the case on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28,” they added. These cancellations are expected to affect more than 8,000 passengers travelling from London to Paris.
“Eurostar teams are fully mobilised at stations, call centres and on board to ensure all passengers are informed and can reach their destination.”
Here’s everything you need to know if you’re planning to travel to Paris this weekend.
How many Eurostar services are disrupted?
A record 18 services from London St Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord were due to run on Friday, but all will be affected by the travel disruption. Services still running are currently showing delays of an hour or more on the company’s website. One in four Eurostar services from London to Paris are cancelled on Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July.
On Friday afternoon, the 3.31pm, 4.31pm and 7.01pm trains from St Pancras International to Paris were cancelled.
Are the Eurostar trains actually running?
Yes. The first train from Paris Gare du Nord arrived 82 minutes late at St Pancras International. The delay is due to trains running on the “classic” line, as the high-speed TGV Nord line is closed. Many other high-speed lines, including those connecting Paris to Brussels, Amsterdam and the rest of Northern France, also use the old railway lines.
How is Eurostar contacting affected passengers?
Passengers will be contacted by email or text message. Eurostar says: “We are asking all passengers who can to postpone their journey and not to come to the station.”
My train has been cancelled, what are my options?
If your train is cancelled or delayed by more than 60 minutes, you can request a refund or change, but be aware that there will be limited services available in the next 48 hours. You can also claim compensation in the event of delays.
I’m stuck, can I get help?
Yes. If the chaos continues and you end up stranded overnight, whether in London or Paris, you can claim reasonable expenses for accommodation and food. Keep your receipts.
Can I book a flight instead?
Unless you move really fast. All three Paris airports (Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais) will be closed from 6.30pm on Friday as a security measure ahead of the opening ceremony. The last plane to land is expected to be the Edinburgh to Charles de Gaulle service, which lands at 5.10pm.
After this, an area of northern France the size of Belgium will be closed to all flights except emergency and official government services for five hours. Normally, Paris’ three airports would handle around 350,000 passengers on a peak-free summer day.
What about French domestic trains?
The French national railway company SNCF is advising travellers to postpone their journeys and stay away from train stations.
At Paris’ main stations, Montparnasse, Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est, traffic was severely disrupted on Friday morning and the stations were extremely busy as trains were delayed or cancelled.
Early in the afternoon on Frida, French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said: “Traffic is starting to pick up again and I would like to thank the SNCF Réseau staff who worked so hard this morning. It was really the Atlantic line that was affected. We should have 1 train out of 3 back this afternoon.”
Will this affect metro services in Paris?
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has insisted that the attack on the high-speed lines “will not affect the ceremony” opening the Olympic Games on Friday night, “because it has no impact on the transport network” in the Paris region.
Is LeShuttle still running?
LeShuttle, the service that carries both cars and pedestrians, is running as usual. The service runs from Folkestone in Kent to Calais. Tickets are still available throughout the weekend.
Are there still ferry services?
Cross-Channel ferry services are not affected by the rail chaos in France.
The chaos of traveling has thrown my plans into disarray. Can I get anything back from my insurance?
Rory Boland, Travel Editor at Which? tripsays: “If you have tickets to watch the Games and you miss an event due to transport issues, it may be possible to make a claim on your insurance – either your Ticket Protection Insurance if you took this out when you purchased it, or your travel insurance, depending on the specifics of your policy.”
Some travel insurance policies may have an extension for travel disruption, but you should check the terms and conditions of your policy extension and what type of disruption it covers. The best way to ensure you are covered is to call or email your insurance company to ask if this can be added.
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