- Title: Eurostar, Thalys rail links with Paris halted by equipment failure
- Date: 7th December 2016
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 7, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GARE DU NORD STATION EXTERIOR LUGGAGE BEING PULLED INSIDE STATION PEOPLE ENTERING STATION SIGN READING (French): "Following an electric incident that occurred at 1pm, Thalys informs you that all clients subjected to more than an hour of delay can have their tickets fully reimbursed by their original vendor." TRAVELLERS WAITING IN FRONT OF THALYS TRAIN TRACKS MEN LOOKING AT INFORMATION SIGN PASSENGER'S LUGGAGE TRAVELLERS QUEUEING FOR ELEVATOR WOMAN WAITING TRAVELLERS RECEIVING INFORMATION WOMEN WAITING WITH HER LUGGAGE MAN WAITING OUTSIDE STATION AND TALKING ON PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARIANNE, TOURIST FROM COLOGNE, GERMANY SAYING: "My train isn't leaving to Cologne, they told me… I don't know why, they told me I have to ask for tomorrow for a train. Now I have to go back to my friends, just for having a bed tonight." PEOPLE WAINTING OUTSIDE STATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) JO, AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLER, SAYING: "So we've come from Strasbourg, we've already been delayed. The delay started a couple of hours ago, and we're on our way to Amsterdam for a few days, before going back home. Obviously we can't catch the Amsterdam train yet, but I believe sometime tonight, the electricity lines will be fixed, so we'll just hang around and wait." (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAURENT, FRENCH TRAVELLER, SAYING: "It's not the first time that either the train is cancelled, or there's an electric cable problem, or delays that make us miss the correspondence, it's tiring at some point. We are always worried now, when we take the train, that something happens, making us not arrive at the destination on time." FRENCH POLICE OUTSIDE STATION LUGAGE BEING PULLED INSIDE STATION GARE DU NORD STATION EXTERIOR
- Embargoed: 22nd December 2016 17:45
- Keywords: rail Eurostar Thalys SNCF Gare du Nord tourists
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA0015BVZ22V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:An equipment failure temporarily halted all rail traffic on Wednesday (December 7) at the Gare du Nord station in Paris, including the international Eurostar and Thalys train links, the SNCF state rail company said.
Traffic gradually began returning to normal more than two hours after being affected by "an electrical problem," the spokesman said. But some travellers still had to wait 24 hours before taking another train.
"My train isn't leaving to Cologne, they told me… I don't know why, they told me I have to ask for tomorrow for a train. Now I have to go back to my friend just for having a bed tonight," a German tourist, Marianne, said.
Thalys offered full reimbursements for passengers subjected to more than an hour delay.
The Gare du Nord station, the busiest in Europe, is the Paris destination for Eurostar connections with London and Thalys links with Brussels and other north European countries.
"Obviously we can't catch the Amsterdam train yet, but I believe sometime tonight, the electricity lines will be fixed, so we'll just hang around and wait," Australian traveller Jo said while waiting outside the station.
Some expressed their exasperation at the frequent delays in the railway service.
"It's not the first time that either the train is cancelled, or there's an electric cable problem, or delays that make us miss the correspondence, it's tiring at some point. We are always worried now, when we take the train, that something happens, making us not arrive at the destination on time," French man Laurent said.
Problems with electrical equipment had already halted train services between the station and the Charles de Gaulle airport north of the capital. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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