Eurostar cancellations after Paris Olympics rail sabotage travel chaos

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As a result of deliberate acts of sabotage causing disorder on France's high speed rail system right before the Olympic Games opening ceremony, fans should anticipate ongoing disruptions when traveling to see the top athletes in the world compete.

The French train company SNCF said on Friday that around 800,000 people could be impacted by the disruption over the weekend. Eurostar services from London are also expected to be affected on Saturday and Sunday.

Flights heading to France were also affected by the security issues. A large restricted air space in the northern part of the country caused airports in Paris to shut down for six hours during the opening ceremony on Friday. This led to bus fares from London going over £200 as fans looked for other transportation options.

Alerting that the French railway system is being targeted, SNCF's top executive, Jean-Pierre Faranadou, stated that the fires which disrupted train services were a deliberate, planned, and organized assault. The transport minister, Patrice Vergriete, mentioned individuals running away from the incidents and the finding of flammable devices.

Even though there was a lot of confusion, a representative from Team GB assured The Independent that all British athletes made it to the Games on Friday as planned. With more interruptions anticipated, let's explore how everyone will be traveling to Paris on Saturday and beyond.

On Friday, criminals caused damage to the transportation systems that connect Paris to cities like Lille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg. Fortunately, another attempted attack on the Paris-Marseille line was stopped by the French rail company SNCF.

The fire on the tracks south of Lille had an impact on all Eurostar trains traveling from London. The railway company has requested that passengers delay their journeys and advised that trains will be delayed.

Tina Mackie, who lives in Suffolk, was supposed to arrive in Paris by early afternoon on Friday. However, her Eurostar train was delayed by four hours. "I'm relieved we didn't listen to their suggestion to cancel," she remarked. "I don't think many people heeded the advice - the train was completely full."

Eurostar had to cancel 4 out of the 15 trains that were supposed to travel from London to Paris on Saturday, affecting over 3,000 passengers. The company also cautioned about possible delays.

The train company informed passengers that because of a serious issue on the train network in France, their journey may be delayed by 1-2 hours. It is recommended that passengers consider rescheduling their travel if possible.

All the trains on Saturday are fully booked and there are no more seats left.

Due to the high-speed line from Lille to Paris not being able to accommodate the intended amount of trains, they are now being directed along the slower, traditional route to the French capital. This older track was not designed for fast speeds or high capacity.

Trains from Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France are vying for limited space on the existing railway tracks, alongside Eurostar.

Seven out of every 10 trains are currently operating on the northern route, while the same ratio applies to the trains on the Atlantique line, which serves the western and southwestern regions.

The statement from SNCF mentioned that there will continue to be disruptions in traffic on Sunday in the North, but the situation should improve for travelers heading back on the Atlantic axis for the weekend.

Mr. Vergriete repeated this statement on Saturday, telling the press: "There will continue to be disruptions tomorrow. However, starting Monday, there is no reason to be concerned."

Paris airports were shut down for six hours on Friday for security reasons during the opening ceremony. Many flights, especially those operated by Air France and EasyJet, were cancelled in and out of Paris.

However, it seemed like air travel was getting back to its usual routine on Saturday morning. There were only a few flights that were canceled or delayed at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, including one flight from Gatwick that arrived about an hour later than scheduled.

The travel journalist Simon Calder from The Independent was on the inaugural British Airways flight to land in Paris after the main airport reopened on Saturday morning. He noted that the airport was less busy than usual because there were fewer connecting passengers present.

As the airports and airspace began to operate regularly again, Eurocontrol, the air navigation coordinator for Europe, stated that the next obstacle would be managing the mass departure following the closing ceremony on August 11.

When the travel chaos started on Friday, the price of coach tickets from London to Paris skyrocketed to over £100, with some costing over £200 for trips that would take about 10 hours.

Every Flixbus trip from London to Paris on Saturday was completely reserved, except for two that will get to the French capital on Sunday. The first National Express bus isn't expected to reach its destination until Monday afternoon.