Eurostar trains canceled, delayed after French network fault: operator
'Due to part of the track being temporarily closed on the French network, severe disruptions including cancelations are expected all day to and from Paris,' Eurostar said.
'We strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date,' it added.
As well as the cancelations, passengers whose trains were running were experiencing major delays of up to two hours.
French track network operator SNCF Reseau said teams were in place to diagnose the problem and carry out repairs.
It remains unclear what caused the incident on the train line between Moussy and Longueil in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
At least 17 Eurostar trains connecting London with Paris through the Channel Tunnel as well as Brussels and Amsterdam were canceled, it said.
A Paris-Brussels train and another Brussels-Paris train which left Monday morning had to turn back to their stations of origin, it added.
Those trains that were running were being directed by the SNCF along classic non-high speed lines.
Trains were starting to move again along the high-speed line from 1600 GMT but only on one track for both directions.
Disruption would persist until Monday evening and work would continue throughout the night to restore traffic to normal by the morning, SNCF said.
The incident is the latest to affect Eurostar services during the holiday season at a time when the company has faced criticism over its high prices, especially on the Paris-London route.
The theft of cables along train tracks in northern France had caused two days of problems at the end of June.
French operator SNCF has a majority shareholding in Eurostar, with Belgian railways, Quebec investment fund CDPQ and US fund manager Federated Hermes holding minority stakes.
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Arab News
2 days ago
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Major European cities have little but tourism left
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I also imagine that the familiar faces we would once see regularly and create a bond with must have all but disappeared. In that instance, I would not mind and would be quite happy to see people from across the world enjoying a nice Parisian terrace; if it were not for the fact that no one was actually drinking their delicious hot chocolate or enjoying their pastries, but only filming the moment to share on their social media accounts. Parisians (which I consider myself to be even before being French) are a special breed and are quick to criticize. We are usually unimpressed by anything and have an indifferent attitude. Today, however, locals in most cities across Europe have started to feel resentment toward tourists, just as Parisians do. And we should not forget that tourists, too, have their frustrations with the City of Light. Moreover, these changes have a real impact on people's daily lives. 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While decisions and political solutions used to mainly come from the West, now, just like the tourists, they come from across the world. There is undoubtedly a deficit in the power of the West, with the clear understanding that it was economic power that allowed it to finance military power and, hence, it had diplomatic power. This equation is now proving successful for countries in many regions and the West has been welcoming their citizens as tourists, while also becoming dependent on their markets. Tourism includes not only the travelers that I have mentioned, but also students, healthcare workers and more. Many critics of the last decade's policies have stated that Paris, London and other European cities now represent what the countries have become: a hotel, a museum and a restaurant. They are only capable of exploiting their past greatness, symbolized by grandiose architecture and a way of life, including culinary delights. And that's it. While I can imagine how a foreign dignitary would have felt arriving in London at the beginning of the last century and crossing The Mall, which projected power and advancements, today it is no longer impressive. But it amazes as a historical passage that attracts tourists and needs their money to fund its maintenance. In light of this, the exclusive focus on artificial intelligence by Western powers could look like a last effort to regain their advantage. But this time they are not alone. • Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
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05-08-2025
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PARIS: High-speed train travel resumed in northern France on Tuesday after an electrical fault forced the cancelation of Eurostar services and severe delays on Eurostar trains connecting Paris with London and continental Europe were canceled on Monday after the fault on an overhead cable on the line in northern France, Eurostar company has canceled three Paris-London services on Tuesday, according to its schedule. There were still delays on other trains but not as severe as the disruptions endured by passengers on Monday.'The repair work was completed according to schedule, and this morning we are resuming normal traffic on the high-speed line,' a spokesperson for French operator SNCF that did run on Monday were diverted onto slower remains unclear what caused the incident on the line between Moussy and Longueil in northern incident was the latest to affect Eurostar during the holiday season at a time when the company has faced criticism over its high prices, especially on the Paris-London theft of cables on train tracks in northern France caused two days of problems in has a majority shareholding in Eurostar, with Belgian railways, Quebec investment fund CDPQ and US fund manager Federated Hermes holding minority stakes.
