France intends to bolster security across its railway system, as announced by the national SNCF railway company, following previous sabotage acts that disrupted the railway service, affecting thousands of travellers on the inaugural day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
While the SNCF acknowledged that service repairs were progressively improving after the initial sabotage, they also admitted that many railway routes would remain disrupted. However, they reassured that the transportation arrangements for the Olympic teams were secured.
“In collaboration with law enforcement authorities, we have escalated network surveillance, both on the ground and aerially, deploying both human and technological resources,” stated SNCF.
Subsequent to the sabotage that shattered the network, France put a hold on the high-speed rail services in most parts of the country on Friday. This happened mere hours before the start of the Olympic Games.
The orchestrated fires that occurred on Thursday night have raised concerns among the organisers of the Paris summer games. They are preparing to welcome several hundreds of thousands of spectators to the capital for the inaugural ceremony that will be held on the river Seine.
“The fires were intentionally ignited to destroy our infrastructure, and our engineering teams are already working on site to resolve the problem,” stated SNCF, the high-speed rail operator. They also noted that many train services may need to be cancelled.
After the rail services were majorly suspended, passengers have shared photos of overcrowded railway stations in Paris on social media.
Transport Minister, Patrice Vergriete, warned that train services would continue to be affected throughout the weekend. “I strongly denounce these illegal acts which are causing major disruptions to many travellers,” he stated.
The SNCF’s CEO, Jean-Pierre Farandou, revealed that three fires were ignited concurrently and were detected by staff approximately at 4am. Materials used to start fires were found in close proximity. A fourth attempt to target a southbound line was intercepted by SNCF employees, who happened upon the suspects and managed to drive them away. This is currently the most hopeful lead in the ongoing police investigation.
Farandou committed to resuming services at the earliest and emphasised that the SNCF would not let “a handful of reckless, irresponsible individuals” obstruct them from carrying out their duties.
He estimated that about 800,000 voyagers may be disrupted during the weekend due to issues with pipes carrying electrical cables. Consequently, the TGV high-speed trains would be rerouted via standard lines, leading to delays and cancellations.
The director, Farandou, explained that the repair job is a time-consuming manual process, with each affected cable needing to be thoroughly tested. Despite years of contingency planning for similar incidents in the lead-up to the Games, transportation and security officials seemed to be powerless to prevent them.
Some 45,000 law enforcement personnel are currently on duty in Paris, with additional officers being sent to railway stations, as stated by Paris’ police chief, Laurent Nunez. The person in charge of the Ile-de-France region which oversees transport, Valérie Pécresse, alleged that this was a well-planned and large-scale attack on the equipment used to power the trains.
European security bodies have been on guard for potential Russian sabotage for several months. In the spring, intelligence agencies from NATO countries started to exchange confidential information about Russia’s alleged plans to escalate violent activities in Europe. This analysis was developed in light of multiple thwarted plots across the continent and intelligence gathered from Russian spy groups, successfully neutralised by security personnel.
The Paris prosecution department confirmed that its organised crime unit will lead the investigation into these train attacks. On Friday, the disruption impacted multiple major railway lines from Paris, including services to the northern city of Lille, which will host football and basketball games throughout the duration of the Games. TGV services going north to Brussels, east to Strasbourg, and west to Brittany were affected.
Due to the peak season for summer travel, trains were expected to be heavily packed, even without spectators for the Olympics. The sports minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, commented on the issue, criticizing the actions against the Games as tantamount to actions against France and its people. She refrained from commenting on the actual source of the sabotage, asserting that the Games are a national event and not just a government one.
– As reported by Reuters / Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024