LIVE. Attack on SNCF: coordinated sabotage, major disruptions on TGVs and in Paris

SNCF says it has been the victim of “simultaneous malicious acts” that have paralyzed several TGV lines in France. 800,000 passengers have seen their journeys affected by the “massive attack” and coordinated this Friday, July 26.

The essentials

• SNCF has been the victim of “several simultaneous malicious acts affecting the TGV Atlantique, Nord and Est lines” during the night from Thursday to Friday. It describes a “massive attack” aimed at paralyzing part of the SNCF network.
• Significant disruptions, delays and cancellations are expected this Friday, July 26 and could “last at least the entire weekend,” warns SNCF.
• The attack that hit the TGV line installations affects the journey of 800,000 customers according to the CEO of SNCF.
• An investigation has been opened to shed light on acts of sabotage, arson and cable cuts, among others. The outgoing Minister of Transport indicated that “all the evidence we have shows that the acts were intentional” on BFMTV.

Live

According to RMC, signaling cabinets along the tracks were set on fire and cables were cut and set on fire. The LGV Nord was notably targeted towards Arras, and at Croisille in Pas-de-Calais, as well as other acts of sabotage. The LGV Atlantique suffered a fire at post 17 in Courtalain (commune Nouvelle d'Arrou) between Paris and Tours according to information gathered by BFMTV. The same observation applies to the LGV Est with damage between the Meuse TGV station and the town of Lamorville and between Pagny-sur-Moselle (54) and the town of Lamorville. Finally, sabotage attempts were prevented on the LGV Sud Est, in Vergigny in the Yonne.

Following the massive attack suffered by the SNCF, which paralyzed the network and affected more than 800,000 people this Friday, the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, recommended “at this stage for all Ile-de-France residents not to go to the station, to wait for the passenger information that will be sent” by the SNCF. In addition, the group “is working to organize plans B”, she indicated. to try to reassure users. 

10:23 – The "reinforced" security system in Parisian train stations

“What we have done (…) is to concentrate the workforce in Parisian stations. Since a certain number of people will not be able to take their trains and so when that is the case, there are always a few more people in the stations. So we are strengthening the security system” indicated the Paris Police Prefect, Laurent Nunez, on BFMTV this Friday.

10:20 – Delays on Eurostar trains

The Eurostar traffic connecting Paris to London is disrupted this Friday, July 26, 2024. A one-hour delay is displayed on all Eurostar trains departing from and arriving at Gare du Nord (Paris) due to the massive attack carried out against the SNCF, on this day of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

10:16 – Which stations and lines are affected by the incidents ?

The various incidents on the lines were reported in Vergigny (Yonne), on the Paris-Marseille high-speed line; Courtalain (Eure-et-Loir), on the Atlantic high-speed line; Croisilles (Pas-de-Calais), on the Paris-Lille high-speed line; Pagny-sur-Moselle (Meurthe-et-Moselle), on the East high-speed line, according to information from Parisien.

10:16 – Details on the state of TGV traffic

Given the damage to SNCF facilities, TGV traffic is disrupted but has not come to a complete standstill. The resigning Minister of Transport, Patrice Vergriete, has clarified the forecasts and estimates that “one train in two” should run “towards the East and to the North” and that “one TGV in four in the Bordeaux region” should operate. “On the TGV Atlantique, the TGV Nord and the TGV Est, the arson attacks have [caused damage], and therefore have direct consequences on the high-speed lines. The TGVs must take conventional lines, which means delays and cancellations,” he added.

10:10 – “Strategic points” affected on the SNCF network

These are “strategic points [that] have been targeted” on the SNCF network according to a source from Le Parisien: “on the Atlantic axis, for example, the act was carried out just before the junction towards Brittany and the Atlantic coast, which is necessarily very penalizing”. An SNCF manager denounces “elaborate and coordinated acts” : "When you have concurrent acts, on different lines, these are highly suspicious incidents".

More than 250,000 passengers, there are "800,000 customers" who are affected by the disruptions linked to "sabotage" on the SNCF network according to SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou contacted by BFMTV.

“Everything indicates that these are arson attacks,” the resigning Minister of Transport declared on BFMTV. Patrice Vergriete indicated that “all the evidence we have shows that (the acts are) deliberate”: “the timing of the attacks, vans found with people who fled, particularly in the south-east, arsonists found on site…”. He announced that an investigation is underway to shed light on this attack.

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“250,000 passengers who will be affected today” by the disruptions on the TGV lines according to information from the SNCF reported by Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Ile-de-France region. The elected official advises passengers who had planned to take the TGV “not to go to the station" this Friday. Val&eacuterie P&eacutecresse denounces "a massive and coordinated attack" which aimed to disrupt traffic during this strategic weekend due to the comings and goings of the holidays and the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. 

09:42 – What are the malicious acts that have targeted the SNCF TGV lines ?

The malicious acts suffered by the SNCF consist of cables being cut and others being set on fire on several TGV lines, other acts of sabotage have also been recorded according to information from BFMTV. These attacks occurred at Arras for the LGV Nord, near Courtalain on the LGV Atlantique and at two locations on the LGV Est: between the Meuse TGV station and the town of Lamorville and between Pagny-sur-Moselle (54) and the town of Lamorville.

09:36 – Disruptions on the TVG lines in the Grand Ouest

Concerning the axes of the Grand Ouest, traffic is interrupted on the TGV lines between Paris and Tours and Paris and Le Mans. It is also seriously disrupted on other lines such as those connecting Paris to Bordeaux or Paris to Rennes. “Expect significant delays and route changes are “to plan for your TGV INOUI, INTERCITÉS, OUIGO” warns the SNCF..

09:28 – Disruptions on TGV lines in the East

“Traffic is very disrupted” on the TGV lines in the East of France”. Only trains to Reims and Chalons en Champagne are not affected according to SNCF details. Here again “significant delays are to be expected for your TGV INOUI and OUIGO", or even cancellations. “Major works are to be “to be expected and a normal resumption of traffic is estimated on July 27,” estimates the railway company, while for other lines the reestablishment of traffic will not be possible before next week.

09:25 – Disruptions on the TVG lines to the North

Traffic is interrupted on the TGV line that connects Paris and Lille due to a malicious act on the installations, writes the SNCF. “Traffic is disrupted on this line” and “significant delays and route changes are to be expected for your TGV INOUI and OUIGO" it warns again.

09:20 – The security system raised by the police prefecture

The Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, assured on franceinfo that the police prefecture “is concentrating its staff in Parisian train stations” after the “massive attack” which paralyzed the TGV network. “We are reinforcing the security system, that's what we have just done this morning”, he specified.

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The SNCF was é victim "of several concurrent malicious acts affecting the Atlantic, North and East TGV lines" on Thursday night à Friday. "Arson incidents have been reported. triggered to damage our installations" explains the companyé railway in a press release which ensures that teams "are already there" on site to carry out the diagnosis and begin repairs. But the SNCF also warns that the disruptions, numerous in the morning of Friday July 26, should “last at least throughout the weekend”. quot;, time to carry out the necessary repairs.

These disruptions are hitting SNCF traffic as there are many travelers in the stations during this busy weekend. holidays and that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games bring a lot of people to the station to go to Paris. the ceremony or to leave the capital. "We are diverting certain trains on traditional lines but we will have to cancel a large number of them. Our priority is customer support,” adds SNCF.

“I strongly condemn these criminal acts which will compromise the departures on holiday of many French people” reacted the Minister of Transport, Patrice Vergriete on X after the announcement of the SNCF on “massive attack” targeting it. The minister confirmed that the acts of vandalism “will seriously disrupt traffic until this weekend”. “A big thank you to the “SNCF teams, on deck to restore traffic conditions as quickly as possible” he added.

Delays and cancellations at Montparnasse station

Train traffic heading west is disrupted this Friday morning: several trains to Bordeaux, Toulouse and Saint-Malo are more than two hours late. SNCF has announced that it will adapt traffic and drastically reduce the number of trains, but without interrupting traffic. The railway company has confirmed that two trains per hour will leave for Aquitaine, compared to three trains per hour for Brittany and the Pays de la Loire. The X Rémi Train Centre Val de Loire account explains that '"a fire near the tracks in the Courtalain sector is disrupting TGV traffic on the Paris Tours and Paris Le Mans lines".

More broadly, disruptions are to be expected in the direction of the Grand Ouest, the North and the East. Only the South-East line has been spared, because a malicious act has been foiled according to the SNCF.