French rail traffic disrupted by 'large-scale attack' on TGV network

French TGV services will be "very disrupted" the next few days after a "major attack" on the high-speed network on Friday morning. French rail operator SNCF says it has been the victim of "simultaneous malicious acts", including "arson attacks to damage installations".

The sabotage appears to have started on the TGV west and southwest lines with an arson attack on the track near the town of Courtalain, about 115km south-west of Paris. Flammable objects were reportedly placed on the tracks at five locations to disrupt train services and signal boxes were set alight.

The attacks will cause major delays and cancellations, according to the SNCF. "We are rerouting some trains to the standard line, but we will have to cancel a large number of trains," the company said. The lines affected are the atlantic, northern and eastern high-speed lines. The south-east line was not affected. An attack was reportedly thwarted there.

800,000 passengers affected

International rail services are also affected, with Eurostar high-speed trains to France from Brussels and London suffering delays on Friday morning. SNCB estimates that delays on trains from Brussels Midi to Paris Nord and Charles de Gaulle airport could be between 45 and 90 minutes.

The disruption in France will continue at least through the weekend until the SNCF can carry out repairs. In total, around 800,000 TGV passengers will be affected, according to SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou.

The attack comes just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which will be held in the centre of the French capital on Friday evening. French Sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra suspects a link to the event and spoke of possible "coordinated sabotage".

^{© PHOTO IAN LANGSDON / AFP}