French rail network disrupted until 'Tuesday at earliest' after power outage strands thousands
French rail operator SNCF says that trains will not be back to normal until Tuesday morning at the earliest after a power failure saw thousands of passengers having to spend the night on stranded trains.
The power failure in south west France affected thousands of passengers who were travelling back to Paris and the north of the country ready to go back to work on Monday.
The power failure happened between Dax and Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon, leaving several trains from Dax, Biarritz and Hendaye stuck on the lines unable to move. Many passengers were stranded for up to 20 hours and some were forced to sleep on trains after local hotels ran out of space.
In all around 2,500 passengers were affected, said SNCF.
The company added that the problem is not yet resolved and has also had major knock-on effects on the rail network, saying that they do not expect a return to normal until Tuesday morning at the earliest.
Passengers who were booked to travel through the affected areas on Monday are advised to postpone their trip.
SNCF told Le Parsien: "Our teams are still working on the breakdown of the power supply in the Dax area. We have to do major work on the track installations, we had to wait until daybreak to do them."
Transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri said that anyone stuck in one of the affected trains will have their tickets refunded up to 300 percent.
Dernier jour de vacances d'été, récit. Coincée depuis 9 heures dans un TGV @SNCF Pau-Paris et nous sommes arrêtés... un peu après Bordeaux. (1/n) Thread tentant de transcender cette expérience ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/e5XSLFjbW9
— Jade Grandin (@JadeGrandin) August 30, 2020
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The power failure in south west France affected thousands of passengers who were travelling back to Paris and the north of the country ready to go back to work on Monday.
The power failure happened between Dax and Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon, leaving several trains from Dax, Biarritz and Hendaye stuck on the lines unable to move. Many passengers were stranded for up to 20 hours and some were forced to sleep on trains after local hotels ran out of space.
In all around 2,500 passengers were affected, said SNCF.
The company added that the problem is not yet resolved and has also had major knock-on effects on the rail network, saying that they do not expect a return to normal until Tuesday morning at the earliest.
Passengers who were booked to travel through the affected areas on Monday are advised to postpone their trip.
SNCF told Le Parsien: "Our teams are still working on the breakdown of the power supply in the Dax area. We have to do major work on the track installations, we had to wait until daybreak to do them."
Transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri said that anyone stuck in one of the affected trains will have their tickets refunded up to 300 percent.
Dernier jour de vacances d'été, récit. Coincée depuis 9 heures dans un TGV @SNCF Pau-Paris et nous sommes arrêtés... un peu après Bordeaux. (1/n) Thread tentant de transcender cette expérience ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/e5XSLFjbW9
— Jade Grandin (@JadeGrandin) August 30, 2020
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