Cable theft along railway tracks in northern France on Wednesday disrupted Eurostar train traffic between London and Paris for the second day in a row, the company and French railway operator said, UNN reports citing AFP.
Details
Overnight, "more than 600 meters of cable was stolen or cut south of the Lille-Europe station" on the route between the two capitals, French railway operator SNCF said.
"The impact is mainly on high-speed train traffic," he added.
About 15 workers, including cable layers, were dispatched to fix the problem, but repairs are expected to take most of the day, the operator added.
In the Mont-de-Terre district of southern Lille, AFP saw workers in orange vests laying cables back along the railway.
They worked to reconnect dozens of different colored cables one by one inside thick pipes.
Police contacted by AFP did not provide any details about the cable theft.
The Eurostar website states that six flights between London and Paris were canceled on Wednesday - three in each direction, while other trains were still scheduled to run.
Several flights between London and Brussels were delayed.
"Due to cable theft near Lille-Europe, our trains are likely to experience severe delays and last-minute cancellations," Eurostar said, offering passengers the option to cancel or postpone their trip free of charge.
This was the second day of disruption after traffic was disrupted on Tuesday evening due to "two people being hit by a train near Lille-Europe."
Eurostar spokeswoman Juliette Clement told AFP that trains are currently "being rerouted on secondary routes, which is increasing travel time."
Several passengers took to X to express their frustration.
SNCF said about 10 high-speed train journeys between Lille and the French capital were also canceled.
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