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Eurostar has cancelled all trains from London until at least mid-morning after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb disrupted traffic at Paris’s busy Gare du Nord station.
“An unexploded bomb from the Second World War was discovered near the tracks,” French national railway company TER said.
The disruption is affecting both local metros and national and international trains.
Eurostar’s website shows that at least four trains scheduled to depart from Gare du Nord on Friday morning have been cancelled so far, while six trains departing Paris for London have also been cancelled.
As of 8am, the next Eurostar train due to depart from London St Pancras is scheduled for 10:31, while the next train expected to leave Gare du Nord is at 12:09pm, the company’s website suggests.
Gare du Nord is Europe’s busiest rail station and serves 214 million passengers a year, according to Eurostar.
France’s national train operator SNCF said that traffic would be stopped at the Gare du Nord until mid-morning at the request of police.
“We invite travellers to postpone their trip,” it said.
The bomb was discovered “in the middle of the tracks” in the suburb of Saint-Denis during overnight works on Thursday, with bomb disposal experts working at the scene through the night, Le Parisien newspaper reported SNCF as saying.
Fabien Villedieu, leader of the SUD rail union shared a picture of the unexploded bomb on social media, which he said weighed 300kg.
While bombs left over from the First and Second World Wars are regularly discovered around France, it is rare for them to be found in such a heavily populated location.
However, train stations were often a target of the Allied forces as they sought to disrupt Germany’s war effort.
France’s transport minister Philippe Tabarot warned there would be disruption throughout the day at Gare Du Nord. “The ideal would be to be able to restore traffic in a slightly degraded manner from the afternoon,” he is reported to have told Sud Radio.
Eurostar said on its website: “Due to an object on the tracks near Paris Gare du Nord, we are expecting disruption to our services this morning. Please change your journey for a different date of travel.
“You can exchange your ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class. This is subject to availability.”