Travelers at Gare du Nord hope to save their weekend while trains traffic normally resumed on Saturday

Traffic was paralyzed on Friday until evening due to the accidental discovery of a World War II bomb during an operation to earthworks in Saint-Denis.

No delay is no longer announced on Saturday 8 March in the morning at the Gare du Nord after the Galère day due to the discovery of a bomb of the Second World War on Friday. TGV, TER, Eurostar, everything circulates correctly, confirmed our journalist on site, then the spokesperson for the SNCF. The Gare du Nord is one of the busiest in Europe, with more than 226 million travelers in 2023, according to SNCF figures.

There was still a small queue in front of the Eurostar and Thalys counters. “We have been there for 20 minutes, we wait, always motivated”, joking a traveler. Tony and Virgile had to leave on Friday and are looking for a place to save their weekend. “We said to ourselves a first train at 7 hours, if we arrive two hours before, potentially, we have a chance to get into a train with perhaps the chief’s agreement or a confirmation by the Eurostar ticketing “. Result: they were the first in the queue.

Two TGVs were added to the Saturday transport plan, one departing from Paris and the other from London, to take charge of passengers who could not take on Friday, said Eurostar. A crowd is also gathered in front of the quay of a train on the verge of leaving for Amsterdam. Hundreds of standing places have been promised by management, which may slow traffic.

Rail traffic was completely interrupted on Friday at the Gare du Nord, from morning to evening. Delays due to the demining operation which took place, after the accidental discovery of a bomb dating from the Second World War, “In the town of Saint-Denis at 2.5 km of the station “.” A 500 -kilo bomb with 200 kilos of explosives inside, it’s quite rare ” underlined the Minister for French Transports Philippe Tabarot.

The bomb was discovered during work, about 200 meters north of the Parisian peripheral boulevard. Schools and residents have been evacuated. Part of the peripheral boulevard and the A1 motorway were closed during the operation, and 300 police officers mobilized to secure the perimeter.