PARIS: The unearthing of a 500-kilogram World War II bomb near tracks outside Paris on Friday halted traffic and stranded thousands of passengers in one of the biggest rail disruptions in the French capital in years.

All traffic to the Gare du Nord train station, which is France’s busiest railway terminus and serves international trains to London and mainland Europe, high-speed and local connections, was halted as police worked to disable the device.

The Gare du Nord station is in the north of the French capital, hosting the Eurostar international trains in addition to regional and suburban service.

All Eurostar trains heading to and from Paris, including the popular service to London through the Channel Tunnel, were cancelled for the rest of Friday.

The unexploded bomb was found “near the tracks” about 2.5 kilometres from the station on Thursday night during maintenance work carried out in the northern Paris suburb of Saint Denis, the national SNCF rail company said.

There were no further details on how the bomb had been found.

The bomb dates back to World War II, with a source familiar with the situation saying the explosive device weighed 500 kilograms. Locals did not have to be evacuated.

Matthieu Chabanel, head of rail infrastructure management unit SNCF Reseau, said that finding a bomb of such size was “really quite exceptional”.

“We know that during World War II, the rail network was heavily bombed, especially here north of Paris where there were also many factories,” he told reporters.

“So we are particularly vigilant when we carry out work in this area and we detect an abnormal situation, which is what happened last night,” he said, adding that police teams were immediately notified.

Sud-Rail unionist Fabien Villedieu posted a picture of the ordnance covered in dirt.

It was not immediately clear when and by who the bomb was dropped during World War II and if it dated to before or after the 1940 occupation of Paris by Germany.

‘It’s impossible’

Many passengers could not mask their irritation at the sudden change of plans.

“I’ve been waiting since 6am for a train to Goussainville,” said 55-year-old Corinne Schiavenato, referring to a town north of Paris.

“I tried to take a replacement bus, but it’s impossible, too many passengers, they’re packed. I’m self-employed, I have a client who has been waiting for me since 7am.” Others took the disruptions in stride.

“It’s funny, I’ve just come back from Lorient where unexploded shells are discovered all the time,” said Chloe Ternand, referring to a town in western France.

Part of the Paris ring road and a motorway were closed to traffic due to the demining operations.

‘I was shocked’

Eurostar urged passengers to change their journey “for a different date”.

“Traffic is completely halted to and from Gare du Nord. As a result, all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today,” affecting the routes to London and Brussels, the cross-Channel operator said.

Its services from London to Brussels and London to Amsterdam, which do not go via Paris, were running normally, it added.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2025