A World War II bomb was unearthed under the tracks approximately one and a half miles north of Paris’ Gare du Nord station, sending shockwaves through one of France’s busiest train hubs. Friday morning saw commuter traffic grind to a halt following the alarming find.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot informed Sud Radio that significant travel disruptions were anticipated throughout the day, advising travelers to consider delaying their plans. Despite assurances of no imminent danger of detonation, he emphasized the presence of established protocols for the safe defusal and removal of such munitions.
The discovery led to the suspension of all train services, spanning local metros, commuter lines, and national as well as international routes. Eurostar, in response, announced the cancellation of all Paris-bound trains, including those to London, Brussels, and Amsterdam, until noon local time (6 a.m. ET), pending the completion of police-led clearance operations on the site of the bomb.
Passengers were encouraged by the European rail operator to reschedule their journeys, with ticket exchanges offered at no cost for alternative travel arrangements within the same class. While services between London and Amsterdam, London and Brussels, and Brussels and Marne La Vallée near Paris continued unaffected, the situation in Paris remained tense.
The unexploded ordnance was uncovered in the Seine-Saint-Denis region, near Gare du Nord, as workers excavated soil along the train tracks at around 4 a.m. local time. Following the discovery, authorities swiftly secured the area and initiated evacuation procedures.
Instances of unexploded wartime bombs being unearthed remain common in France, with a similar incident occurring in 2019 near Gare du Nord. The discovered bomb, weighing nearly a thousand pounds, was traced back to a British Royal Air Force mission in April 1944 aimed at targets in Nazi-occupied Paris ahead of the Normandy D-Day landings, as reported by The Telegraph.
