In Paris, the Gare de l'Est paralyzed by an "act of sabotage"
Passengers stranded in the Gare de l'Est in Paris on January 24, 2023. AFP - THOMAS SAMSON
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2 mins
Traffic will resume, but will remain "
disturbed
" on Wednesday departing from and arriving at the Gare de l'Est in Paris, with one in three TGVs during rush hour, after an intentional fire which largely prevented trains from arrive or leave from the main station this Tuesday.
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“
This morning, we suffered an act of sabotage around 3am.
We discovered (...) significant damage
, ”said Olivier Bancel, number two of SNCF Réseau, during a press briefing.
“
It is an act of sabotage on signaling cables which include safety circuits.
»
The fire burned "
48 cable arteries, or around 600 electric cables
" at a signal box in Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne), according to the public company.
These cables are essential for railway signalling, for green and red lights on the tracks.
The SNCF therefore stopped all traffic to avoid collisions between trains.
The SNCF lodged a complaint and the Meaux prosecutor's office opened an investigation for willful degradation and endangering the lives of others.
“
There is no lead, no claim from a group
,” a source close to the investigation told AFP at the start of the evening.
"
There is nothing to predict who or why there was this act of sabotage, which has greatly harmed our customers
," said Olivier Bancel, operations and network manager at SNCF.
But according to an executive of the railway company, the authors of this "
sabotage
" knew "
necessarily well the network
", given the place targeted.
Traffic is expected to resume on Wednesday
Earlier in the day, Transport Minister Clément Beaune denounced "
a scandalous malicious act
" which "
must be sanctioned and condemned
".
He mentioned "
traces of gasoline
" and a fire "
in two targeted points
".
Repairs are tedious.
"
Very specialized teams are working
," explained Olivier Bancel.
“
There were about fifty cables which were damaged, which were set on fire.
And around 600 safety circuits.
You have to take them one by one, check them, repair them.
We don't make any concessions with safety
."
On Wednesday, traffic will resume, but slowly: one in three TGVs will run during rush hour and one in two during the day, departing from and arriving at the Gare de l'Est.
One Transilien out of 2 is planned on line P (Meaux and Château-Thierry axes) at peak times and "
normal traffic with off-peak adjustments
".
TER Grand Est traffic should be normal "
with service adjustments
".
(
With
AFP)
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