All Eurostar trains between London and Paris have been suspended today (March 7) due to an unexploded WWII bomb found overnight in France when workers were digging under the tracks. It was believed to be found ‘in the middle of the tracks’ in the Saint-Denis area of Paris, and a statement this morning confirmed that no trains would run between the two cities.
Crowds have formed at both Gare de Nord station in Paris and London St Pancras with passengers hoping to find other means of travel. Services are currently running to other locations, including Lille in France.
In a statement earlier, Eurostar said: “Due to the discovery last night of an unexploded bomb from the Second World War during work carried out on the tracks in St Denis (north of Paris), traffic has been completely halted to and from Gare du Nord. As a result, all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today.”
As workers conducted ‘earthmoving’ – which involves digging up the earth to create a new shape or move the location – last night, the device was found in northeast Paris.
Suspensions to the Paris trains are said to be carrying on through the remainder of the day, with no word yet on when the service will resume. Eurostar added earlier that the company “sincerely apologises for the disruption and understands the inconvenience this may cause. We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation during this time.”
As soon as the discovery was found, minesweepers attended the location in order to make sure the matter could be handled safely.
Eurostar has asked travellers between London and Paris to find alternative means today, but has said anyone with a booking affected can switch them free of charge to a journey at a different time in the same class. There are, however, reports of the app crashing for people trying to amend their journey due to the volume of use.
