The thunderstorms announced in Hauts-de-France are indeed there. They are even the cause of a nasty disruption of rail traffic on the high-speed line between Paris and Calais.
According to our information, lightning struck a switch post near Arras, in Pas-de-Calais. The station is out of service and, for lack of being able to direct the trains correctly, the SNCF has decided to interrupt all traffic on this axis until further notice.
Several trains were thus blocked at Arras. According to SNCF, however, it was decided to send them to Lille-Europe station. The technical teams are in the process of assessing the damage caused by the lightning. It was impossible for the carrier, this noon, to give a deadline for the resumption of traffic.