The operation of French high-speed TGV trains is gradually improving after the arson attacks, but passengers must still expect delays on some lines of one to two hours, the railway carrier SNCF informed this morning. Services are expected to be fully restored on Monday, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said.
The French high-speed railway faced a coordinated arson attack on Friday night, with the aim of fundamentally disrupting traffic in France, and in particular in Paris, before the start of the Olympics. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Seven high-speed services will run in France today, out of an average of ten, on the north, west and south-west lines, SNCF said, predicting delays of one to two hours. On the eastern high-speed line, traffic has resumed in normal mode. On the contrary, delays can be expected on the northern line even on Sunday.
Repairs to the tracks after Friday’s attacks continued throughout the night, according to the SNCF, in the rain, making work difficult. The carrier also reiterated that it would provide transportation for the Olympic teams.
The attackers damaged the infrastructure in four carefully selected hubs key to the main lines on Friday morning. In the tunnels, they first cut and then set fire to cable bundles that control, among other things, train signaling, the SNCF management said at a press conference. Another attack, which would have been the fifth, was stopped before it started. During the night, maintenance workers on the track noticed a van and people who were in places where entry is prohibited. The police confiscated their car, but the crew escaped. The sabotage affected at least 800,000 passengers, including 250,000 in the Ile-de-France region that surrounds Paris.
The attacks on the French railway also affected trains from Paris to London, which usually travel via Lille and then through the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar said it expected around a fifth of services to be canceled over the weekend and all trains to be delayed by around 1.5 hours.
The National Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco) took over the investigation into the sabotage. Perpetrators for damaging property important to the running of the state, damaging automated data processing systems and conspiring to commit these crimes face up to 20 years behind bars and a fine of 150,000 euros (3.8 million crowns), Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced.
Source: www.tyden.cz
