The French railway company said on Friday that TGV high-speed train (TGV) lines were set on fire overnight, classifying the act as a massive attack just hours before the opening of the Olympic Games.
“Several simultaneous malicious acts” affected the TGV Atlantique, Nord and Est lines, with arson attacks damaging structures on the high-speed lines, the rail group explained in a press release.
France’s transport minister said an investigation was underway but “everything points to arson.”
As a result, high-speed train (TGV) service on these three axes experiences many “interruptions”.
According to the channel BFMTVOn all these lines, about 250 thousand passengers are affected this Friday.
“We are rerouting some trains on classic lines, but we will have to cancel a large number of them,” the National Society of French Factories (SNCF) said, quoted by BFMTV.
The group says SNCF teams are “already on site to carry out diagnostics and begin repairs” but warns that “the situation is expected to last at least the entire weekend” while repairs are carried out.
“All customers will receive SMS messages about the operation of their trains,” the group told the France Press news agency.
The company advises “all travellers to postpone their trip and not to go to the station,” adding in a statement that all tickets are exchangeable and refundable.