Discovery of World War II bomb paralyzes Paris' largest train station

Rail traffic was completely disrupted Friday at Paris's Gare du Nord, the busiest station in France, following the discovery of a World War II bomb on the outskirts of the capital. Although Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot assured that "there is no fear" regarding the safety of travelers, trains will not resume running until the demining operations are completed.

The "unexploded" device was found early Friday during maintenance work 2.5 kilometers from the Nord station "in the middle of the tracks," the SNCF said, in statements picked up by AFP. It is a "World War II howitzer shell" which, according to a source close to the case, weighs approximately "500 kilos."

Severe disruption to rail traffic

The transport minister warned that rail traffic would be "heavily disrupted all day" and that, at the earliest, it could resume "partially" from 4 p.m. local (3 p.m. GMT).

While stressing that "there is no fear" in terms of security, he justified the measures "but there is a procedure and we are obliged to comply with it" during clearance operations, the minister explained.

One of the busiest stations in the world

The Nord station is one of the busiest in Europe, with more than 226 million travelers in 2023, and the busiest in the country, with some 700,000 daily users, according to SNCF rail company figures.

No high-speed train, Eurostar or any other type of convoy runs in this busy station in central Paris. The Eurostar, which covers connections to London, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, was diverted to depart from Marne-la-Vallée, east of Paris. Several trains bound for Lille, Dunkirk and Valenciennes, in northern France, also changed their route to depart from Lyon station, south of the capital.

Traffic "will only resume at the end of the clearance operations being organized by the specialized services of the Paris police prefecture," the railway company specified. Both Tabarot and the railway company urged the population to "postpone their journeys."

The decision to interrupt traffic was taken "at the behest of the Paris police prefecture" following the discovery of the device.

There was no need for evacuations

Still, the bomb, which was found about 200 meters north of the peripheral beltway, did not require the evacuation any residents of Saint-Denis, as the device was "quite far" from inhabited areas, the town's city hall said.

In the lobby of the Nord station, in the RER suburban train sector, travelers looked somewhat fed up, observed an AFP journalist. "I've been waiting since 06H00 for an RER to Goussainville, I tried to take a replacement bus but it's impossible, too many people, they are overcrowded. I work as an employee, I have a client waiting for me since 07H00 and I won't be able to check in," complained Corinne Schiavenato, a 55-year-old clerk.

This is not the first time that the discovery of a World War II bomb has paralyzed rail traffic in Paris. In 2019, a shell found northwest of Paris disrupted traffic between Saint-Lazare station and the western outskirts of the capital.