Thousands of passengers in France and the United Kingdom have been stranded after a World War II bomb was discovered on tracks leading to a major train station in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eurostar, the operator of high-speed trains that travel between key European cities, announced on Friday the cancellation of all its services to and from its hub in the French capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for France\u2019s national rail operator, SNCF, said the unexploded World War II bomb was discovered during work near the Gare du Nord station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Services will only be permitted to resume once \u201cmine clearance operations\u201d by the French police are completed, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gare du Nord is a major European transit hub, serving international destinations north of France, such as London; the European Union capital, Brussels; the Netherlands; and the main Paris airport and many regional destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bomb was discovered about 4am (03:00 GMT) by workers doing earth-moving work near the tracks in the Seine-Saint-Denis region. Minesweepers were sent to the site and their operation is still going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot expected the disruption to continue for at least the rest of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bombs left over from World War I and World War II are regularly discovered around France, but it is rare to find them in such a densely populated location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The repercussions quickly rippled beyond France\u2019s borders. In Brussels, trains to Paris were cancelled until at least Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no solution. We\u2019re going to call the hotel and stay one more day and change our train ticket,\u201d Michel Garrot, a retired Parisian visiting the Belgian capital, told The Associated Press news agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At London\u2019s St Pancras station, travellers who had been looking forward to Paris\u2019s charms found their plans dashed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking up flights, but our options are limited,\u201d passenger Lauren Romeo-Smith told AP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Paris, traveller Kasman Ibrahimi told the Reuters news agency he had planned to catch a train to Cologne, Germany, but would now look for a different route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French rail operator SNCF said Gare du Nord usually sees 700,000 travellers per day, making it the busiest rail hub in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: News Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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