PARIS: Rail services resumed on Saturday at Gare du Nord station in Paris, one of a the busiest rail hubs in Europe, after all trains were canceled for much of the previous day following the discovery of a World War II bomb.
Gare du Nord hosts Eurostar services to London and into continental Europe via Belgium, high-seed trains to northern France, as well as a plethora of regional and suburban services.
Sone 500 trains and 600,000 people were affected Friday “with the entire northern part of the country paralyzed,” said Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, after one of the toughest days in years on the French rail network in years.
“We are pleased and relieved that it is over,” he said Friday, adding the bomb weighed 500 kilogrammes with 200 kilogrammes of explosives packed inside.
Defusing operations were completed by Friday afternoon, allowing travel to resume.
Rail services resumed progressively from 1700 GMT Friday and were back to normal on Saturday.
“Traffic has resumed normally, everything is open, everything is running normally,” a spokesperson for French rail operator SNCF told AFP Saturday.
High-speed trains to London and Brussels have resumed “like a normal Saturday,” said Eurostar which has laid on extra trains for passengers who could not travel on Friday.
Some 300 police were mobilized to secure the site after the bomb was unearthed close to the tracks during engineering works overnight Thursday to Friday. Nearby residents were evacuated and part of the Paris ring road temporarily closed.
It was not immediately clear when the bomb had been dropped but experts quoted by French media noted that Allied forces had targeted railway infrastructure and factories close to tracks during the German occupation of France in World War II.
Trains back to normal at Paris Gare du Nord after WWII bomb defused
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Trains back to normal at Paris Gare du Nord after WWII bomb defused
- Rail services resumed on Saturday at Gare du Nord station in Paris, one of a the busiest rail hubs in Europe, after all trains were canceled for much of the previous day
Bangladesh criticizes India over fugitive leader Hasina’s speech
- Hasina said in her audio address that “Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections” under interim leader Muhammad Yunus
DHAKA: Bangladesh said on Sunday it was “surprised” and “shocked” that India had allowed fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to make a public address in New Delhi.
Hasina, 78, fled to neighboring India in August 2024 after a student-led uprising ended her iron-fisted 15-year rule. She made her first public speech since then in an audio address to a packed press club in Delhi on Friday.
She was found guilty in absentia by a Dhaka court in November of incitement, issuing an order to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities and was sentenced to be hanged.
“The government and the people of Bangladesh are surprised and shocked,” Dhaka’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting mass murderer Hasina openly deliver her hate speech... constitute a clear affront to the people and the Government of Bangladesh.”
It said allowing Hasina to make the speech set “a dangerous precedent” that could “seriously impair bilateral relations.”
Bangladesh voters go to the polls on February 12 to choose new leaders after a period of turmoil that followed the overthrow of Hasina’s autocratic government.
Hasina said in her audio address that “Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections” under interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
More than 100,000 people watched the address, which was broadcast online.
Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina, but New Delhi has yet to comment on the request.
India’s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the South Asian neighbors since her overthrow.
