On Friday, portions of France's railway system were paralyzed due to what has been deemed a "coordinated act of vandalism." Tracks servicing high-speed TGV INOUI, Eurostar, and ICE lines in the north of the country were rendered inoperable, leading the railways to either re-route trains with lengthy delays, or cancel the journeys altogether.
The arson attack came as thousands were making their way to Paris from across the country and the rest of Europe to attend the Olympics. The opening ceremony is set to take place Friday night.
In a statement, the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français explained that the perpetrators committed "several concurrent acts of malicious damage," during the night, targeting the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines with fire.
The state-owned railway informed customers that "SNCF Réseau teams are already on site to carry out a diagnosis and begin repairs," but that, "this situation is expected to last at least throughout the weekend while repairs are carried out." Passengers were urged to "please postpone your journey and do not go to the train station."SNCF shares certain tracks with other rail providers, including Eurostar, which runs routes from Paris to London, Brussels, and Amsterdam via Lille. The United Kingdom-based company explained in a statement that, "due to coordinated acts of vandalism in France, affecting the high speed line between Paris and Lille, all high speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday 26 July."
"This extends the journey time by around an hour and a half," the company added, noting that "several trains have been cancelled." Passengers were urged to "postpone their trip if possible," with officials explaining that they could cancel or modify their journeys free of charge, with refunds issued in the former case.
Those responsible for the acts of sabotage have not yet been identified, or tracked down.
