Paris’ busy Gare de l’Est station was forced to cancel all trains today after a fire broke out at a traffic light.
The blaze – which officials believe was deliberately ignited – ignited around 8.30am, at the height of rush hour.
Officials initially hoped to resume services by 10am, but have since confirmed that no trains it will sell out of the Gare de l’Est for the remainder of Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of passengers will have theirs travel plans disrupted from the traffic block. Around 41 million people used Gare de l’Est in 2019, according to SNCF data.
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What happened to the Gare de l’Est?
The fire – which damaged about 50 cables – broke out under an area of tracks in an eastern suburb of Paris.
It was started deliberately, spokesperson for railway operator SNCF told AFP.
“According to the first results, we can say that it was a fire deliberately set on electric cables,” he said.
The bar the operator filed a legal complaint for vandalism.
Speaking on the radio, French Transport Minister Clément Beaune described the arson as a “malicious act”.
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Which trains will be canceled at Gare de l’Est?
No railway services will come out today from the Gare de l’Est. This will include:
Suburban trains running on the Transilien P line. SCNF advised Transilien passengers to take the replacement buses and RER E and RER A suburban rail lines. Regional TER long-distance TGV trains trains in Nancy, Colmar and Reims and in Germany.
Travelers should check with their carrier before traveling from home. If yours train is cancelled, you should be entitled to a refund or an exchange to a later ticket in the same class.