France's high-speed train lines remained disrupted on Saturday, a day after saboteurs paralysed much of the rail network ahead of the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris. According to the transport ministry, traffic won't return to normal until Monday.
Nearly one-third of trains were cancelled Saturday in the three regions affected by the attacks, with most trains still operating delayed by between one and two hours, state rail company SNCF said.
About a quarter of Eurostar services between London and Paris also failed to leave.
Traffic will remain disrupted into Sunday on the northern line running to Lille and Brussels, but should gradually improve on the Atlantic route to Brittany and the south-west, SNCF said.
Trains to Strasbourg and Germany have largely returned to normal.
Full service is expected to resume from Monday, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete told a press conference.
Authorities have taken measures to prevent any further sabotage, he said, including deploying police helicopters and 250 rail security agents to monitor France's train lines.
Rail workers were out throughout the night making emergency repairs, said SNCF director Jean-Pierre Farandou, who estimated that about 160,000 of the 800,000 people due to travel this weekend still faced cancellations or delays.
Coordinated attacks
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the coordinated arson attacks on cabling boxes at junctions strategically picked out north, south-west and east of the French capital.
Rail workers thwarted an attempt to destroy safety equipment on a fourth line to the Mediterranean in what the SNCF called a "massive attack".
The strikes staged early on Friday morning cut and burned fibre optic cables running along the tracks that transmit safety information to train drivers.
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
Prosecutors have opened an investigation into "damage to property likely to undermine the fundamental interests of the nation" and other offences.
"We have uncovered a certain number of elements that allow us to think that we will soon know who is responsible for what clearly did not sabotage the Olympic Games but did sabotage part of the holidays of the French people," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France 2 television.
Some 250,000 people missed their train on Friday, according to SNCF.
Many travellers were on their way to the French capital for the start of the Olympics, while others were hoping to travel in the opposite direction to start their summer holidays.
(with AFP)
