Jornal Do Brasilia - Thousands stranded as WWII bomb paralyses Paris train station

All traffic to the Gare du Nord train station, which is France's busiest railway terminus and serves international trains to London and mainland Europe, high-speed and local connections, was halted as police worked to disable the device.

The Gare du Nord station is in the north of the French capital, hosting the Eurostar international trains in addition to regional and suburban service, according to French railway operator SNCF.

All Eurostar trains heading to and from Paris, including the popular service to London through the Channel Tunnel, were cancelled for the rest of Friday.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said that rail services would resume no earlier than 1500 GMT.

The unexploded bomb was found "near the tracks" about 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the station overnight during maintenance work carried out in the northern Paris suburb of Saint Denis, the national SNCF rail company said.

There were no further details on how the bomb had been found.

The bomb dates back to World War II, with a source familiar with the situation telling AFP that the explosive device weighed 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds). Locals did not have to be evacuated.

Matthieu Chabanel, head of rail infrastructure management unit SNCF Reseau, said that finding a bomb of such size was "really quite exceptional."

"We know that during World War II, the rail network was heavily bombed, especially here north of Paris where there were also many factories," he told reporters.

"So we are particularly vigilant when we carry out work in this area and we detect an abnormal situation, which is what happened last night," he said, adding that police teams were immediately notified.

Sud-Rail unionist Fabien Villedieu posted a picture of the ordnance covered in dirt.

It was not immediately clear when and by who the bomb was dropped during World War II and if it dated to before or after the 1940 occupation of Paris by Nazi Germany.

- 'It's impossible' -

Many passengers could not mask their irritation at the sudden change of plans.

"I've been waiting since 6:00 am for an RER to Goussainville," said 55-year-old Corinne Schiavenato, referring to a town north of Paris.

"I tried to take a replacement bus but it's impossible, too many passengers, they're packed. I'm self-employed, I have a client who has been waiting for me since 7:00 am."

Others took the disruptions in stride.

"It's funny, I've just come back from Lorient where unexploded shells are discovered all the time," said Chloe Ternand, referring to a town in western France.

Part of the Paris ring road and the A1 motorway was closed to traffic due to the demining operations, the police prefecture said.

- 'I was shocked' -

Eurostar urged passengers to change their journey "for a different date."

"Traffic is completely halted to and from Gare du Nord. As a result, all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today", affecting the routes to London and Brussels, the cross-Channel operator said.

Its services from London to Brussels and London to Amsterdam, which do not go via Paris, were running normally, it added.

In London, crowds gathered at St Pancras railway station after Eurostar trains were cancelled. Many looked stressed as they made calls and searched for alternative options

Harrison Baker, 28, a tourist from Australia, was scheduled to travel to Paris on Friday morning, but was instead forced to look on Airbnb for accomodation in London.

"On the speaker they said there was a bomb," he said. "I was shocked."

He said he was not upset at the change of plans.

"I'm happy because I get to stay here another day," he added.

Passengers were being advised to go to the northern French city of Lille or travel by plane.

"We would have thought there would be more Eurostar staff, to be honest," said Lauren Romeo-Smith, part of a group on their way to a birthday weekend.

"We're looking up flights, but our options are limited."

In 2019, the discovery of a wartime bomb interrupted traffic between the Saint-Lazare station and the western suburbs of Paris.

Unexploded ordnance is still found across Europe, particularly in Germany where the ground remains riddled with it and bombs are regularly discovered on construction sites, 80 years after World War II.

Gare du Nord is one of the busiest train stations in Europe, carrying more than 226 million passengers in 2023, according to SNCF.

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S. dos Reis--JDB