PARIS - All services on France’s high-speed rail network should be back to normal by Monday, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said on Saturday, after sabotaged signal stations and cables caused travel chaos on Friday, the first day of the Olympics.
“The complete return to normal is expected for Monday,” he told journalists in an update on the traffic situation.
Traffic on TGV high-speed trains was gradually returning to normal on Saturday after engineers worked overnight repairing sabotaged signal stations and cables that caused travel chaos on Friday, the opening day of the Paris Games.
In Friday’s pre-dawn attacks on the high-speed rail network vandals damaged infrastructure along the lines connecting Paris with cities such as Lille in the north, Bordeaux in the west and Strasbourg in the east. Another attack on the Paris-Marseille line was foiled, said the French rail operator SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français).
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.
“On the Eastern high-speed line, traffic resumed normally this morning at 6.30am, while on the North, Brittany and Southwest high-speed lines, 7 out of 10 trains on average will run with delays of 1 to 2 hours,” SNCF said in a statement on Saturday morning local time.
“At this stage, traffic will remain disrupted on Sunday on the North axis and should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns.”
SNCF reiterated that transport plans for teams competing in the Olympics would be guaranteed.
Security on the rail network was being stepped up, the operator added.
“In coordination with the forces of law and order, surveillance of the network has been stepped up on the ground and in the air, using both human and technical resources,” it said.