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Passengers wait as Eurostar trains to London and all trains heading to northern France have been brought to a halt following the discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb near the tracks at the Gare du Nord station in Paris. Alamy Stock Photo
unexpected disruption
Eurostar trains cancelled after unexploded World War Two bomb found on Paris train tracks
All traffic to Paris Gare du Nord train station was closed as Paris police worked to disable the device.
EUROSTAR HAS SUSPENDED services between London and Paris after the discovery of an unexploded World War Two bomb near tracks in the French capital.
The unexploded bomb was found “in the middle of the tracks” about 2.5 kilometres from Paris Gare du Nord station overnight during maintenance work carried out in the northern suburb of Saint Denis, the national SNCF rail company said.
The bomb “dated to the Second World War,” the RER B suburban train wrote in a post on X.
Due to an object on the tracks near Paris Gare du Nord, we are expecting disruption to our services this morning. Please change your journey for a different date of travel.
— Eurostar (@Eurostar) March 7, 2025
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot warned that rail traffic at Gare du Nord would remain “heavily disrupted all day”, which usually sees an increase in commuters due to weekend travel.
Speaking to broadcaster Sud Radio, Tabarot called on travellers to “avoid going to the station” and postpone their trips, expressing hope that traffic could resume Friday afternoon.
Thousands of passengers have seen their journeys disrupted as the cross-Channel operator cancelled ten services this morning.
Eurostar’s website shows that all trains from London to Paris scheduled to depart before 10.30am were cancelled, while trains in the Paris to London direction are cancelled until at least 12.09pm.
All traffic to Gare du Nord, which hosts Eurostar trains as well as high-speed and local services, was closed as Paris police worked to disable the device.
Some travellers expressed their surprise.
“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.
This was not the first time that the discovery of a World War Two bomb paralysed rail traffic in the French capital.
In 2019, the discovery of a wartime bomb interrupted traffic between the Saint-Lazare station and the western suburbs of Paris.
The Gare du Nord train station lies in the north of Paris and is the country’s busiest rail terminal, serving an estimated 700,000 people each day, according to the SNCF.
With reporting from © AFP 2025
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