The day after the sabotage of railway lines, the SNCF announces disruptions and delays for Saturday, a return to normal on Monday

Although the situation is improving, train traffic remained disrupted on Saturday July 27, the day after an attack “massive” against the TGV network, which has not yet been claimed. “A complete return to normal is expected from Monday” reported the Minister Delegate for Transport, Patrice Vergriete.

• On the North, Brittany and South-West axesseven out of ten TGVs on average will run on Saturday, with average delays of one to two hours, announced the SNCF on Saturday morning. Traffic will still be disrupted on Sunday “on the North axis”but he “should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns”.
• On the East high-speed linetraffic has resumed normally.

At the Montparnasse train station, in front of journalists, the resigning Minister Delegate for Transport, Patrice Vergriete, clarified that “of the 800,000 travellers who were due to travel this weekend, eight out of ten will have taken a train.” He added that “On Saturday, 150,000 out of 250,000 passengers were transported.”

The minister and the head of the SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou, congratulated the railway workers on the bridge in recent hours. “The railway workers worked in the rain and at night to repair the damaged wires. I am proud. The customers applauded when the TGVs left, they understood our mobilization. I thank them for their understanding.”, Mr Farandou stressed. Due to the exceptional situation, SNCF agents at the station have shown flexibility, letting more people on than there are seats on the trains or refraining from checking tickets.

“Attack on the fundamental interests of the nation”

During the night from Thursday to Friday, fibre optic cables running near the tracks and ensuring the transmission of safety information for drivers (red lights, points, etc.) were cut and set on fire at various locations on the network.

The arson attacks affected signal boxes in Courtalain (high-speed Atlantic line), Croisilles (LGV Nord) and Pagny-Sur-Moselle (LGV Est). However, a malicious act was foiled on the LGV Sud-Est, in Vergigny (Yonne), by railway workers who were carrying out maintenance operations during the night, according to the Chairman and CEO of SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou. Similar sabotage took place last year in Germany, or on the LGV Est, in January 2023.

So far, no claims have been received. An investigation has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office for “damage to property likely to harm the fundamental interests of the nation”, “attacks on an automated data processing system by an organized gang” and “criminal association”.

Asked on Saturday about the security measures protecting train traffic, Patrice Vergriete said that they had been reinforced in the Ile-de-France region. “SNCF spends 35 million euros a year on it”he said, adding that he “there was no alert” before the sabotage. But “after what happened yesterday”the resigning minister announced that additional surveillance had been put in place “especially on the South-East high-speed line, where the sabotage was foiled.” He mentioned the mobilization of around fifty drones, gendarmerie helicopters and patrols.

Investigation progressing, according to the Minister of the Interior

The SNCF and the Ministry of Transport have not commented on the ongoing investigation, referring questions to the Ministries of the Interior and Justice. Mr. Vergriete only mentioned “fifty investigators on deck to elucidate and find those responsible for this criminal sabotage operation.”

“We have recovered a certain number of elements which allow us to believe that we will know fairly quickly who is responsible for what clearly did not sabotage the Olympic Games, but which sabotaged part of the French people’s holidays.”, However, he clarified on Saturday midday on France 2 Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin resigned.

The investigations are mobilizing more than fifty investigators from the gendarmerie, according to Agence France-Presse, which cites a source close to the case. According to it, samples taken from the various locations were sent to experts from the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute (IRCGN) for urgent analysis.

The attack occurred just hours before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, when many travelers had planned to reach the capital, causing huge chaos in train stations early Friday morning. Road traffic was also very heavy on Friday for the last weekend of July, according to Bison futé.