Bomb team dispose of WWII explosive after Eurostar chaos in Paris

Sky News

07-03-2025

Eurostar services are expected to resume between London and Paris on Saturday following the disposal operation of an unexploded Second World War bomb.
Thousands of passengers have faced major disruption throughout the day after the cross-Channel operator halted services on Friday morning.
All trains between London and Paris will remain suspended for the rest of the day.
However, Eurostar has said it expects to run a normal service between Paris and London and Paris and Brussels on Saturday. The company said it will run two extra trains - one leaving London to Paris in the morning, the other from Paris to London in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, domestic train services in Paris are resuming and a major highway has reopened following the disposal operation.
It wasn't immediately clear how the bomb, discovered near train tracks in northern Paris, was made safe or disposed of.
"We're delighted and relieved that all this has come to an end," said French transport minister Philippe Tabarot.
Pictures from Gare du Nord show large queues of stranded travellers, while a large crowd of people gathered outside the check-in area at London St Pancras.
The travel disruption also spread to the French capital's road network as bomb disposal teams worked at the site of the find.
The bomb was discovered at around 4am by workers moving earth near the tracks in the Saint-Denis area, north of central Paris.
French transport minister Philippe Tabarot told broadcaster Sud Radio local residents and people near the train stations should have "no fear" of a risk of explosion, stressing the procedures in place for defusing and removing such bombs.
First and Second World War bombs are regularly discovered around France but very rarely in such a densely populated area.
Eurostar said in a statement it "sincerely apologises for the disruption and understands the inconvenience this may cause".
France's national train operator SNCF said services had been suspended at the request of the police and asked "travellers to postpone their trip".
Trains to northern France were also brought to a halt from Gare du Nord, which is a major European transport hub and considered the world's busiest railway station outside of Japan.
Fridays are the busiest day of the week for Eurostar, as many holidaymakers embark on international weekend breaks.
Plans thrown into doubt
Lee Bailey told Sky News he arrived at Gare du Nord to find hundreds of people waiting before being told of the unexploded bomb.
"It's a new one for me," he said, adding the staff were "extremely professional" and that Eurostar had offered him free rebooking or a refund, and an apology, but no compensation.
"I'd like to go to a Michelin (starred) restaurant in Paris on their dime, but that's not happening, apparently," he said.
At St Pancras, Charlotte Kidd, who travelled to London from Bath on Thursday night to get to Disneyland Paris for her 30th birthday this weekend, said she was still hopeful of arriving in time.
"We've got two hours. If not, we'll try and get there some other way," she said.
Emma Roe, part of a group of eight friends, said they were looking up flights to go "maybe to Amsterdam from Luton, just somewhere else".
Lauren Romeo-Smith, part of a group planning to travel for a weekend away to celebrate a birthday, said: "We're looking up flights, but our options are limited."
Five of the six flights that British Airways is operating from Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Friday after midday are full.
A ticket for the one with spare seats, which departs at 6.20pm, is being sold for £264.
Eurostar said affected passengers can exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class.
Trains between London and Brussels are unaffected.