Eurostar passengers have been urged not to travel from Britain to France today, just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
Huge snaking queues have formed at London’s St Pancras station after a ‘massive arson attack’ brought mayhem to France’s rail network ahead of the much-anticipated parade involving 10,500 athletes along the River Seine.
Several Eurostar trains to Paris have been cancelled and others diverted after ‘co-ordinated acts of malice’ on French high-speed rail lines.
It has thrown the first weekend of the summer holidays into chaos, with 3.2million drivers set to hit Britain’s roads today on what has been dubbed ‘Frantic Friday’ by the RAC.
Holidaymakers are already facing tailbacks at the Port of Dover amid a ‘weekend of woe’, while delays are being felt across the Gatwick Express as families head off on their summer getaways.
Eurostar, which runs international services from London St Pancras, has told customers to cancel their trips today if they can – advice which has been backed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The majority of Team GB athletes were arriving at the Games via Eurostar. The British Olympic Association confirmed that only two athletes were scheduled to arrive by Eurostar today and had been subject to only minor delays, but it raises fears others could be affected amid expectations that the delays will last all weekend.
Normally, Eurostar passengers would have the option to fly instead. But a no-fly zone being imposed for the opening ceremony means all flights must cease in the late afternoon.
ST PANCRAS: Passengers queue at the Eurostar terminal after several French lines were hit by ‘malicious acts’
ST PANCRAS: Holidaymakers are facing travel chaos across Britain and France ahead of the Olympics
ST PANCRAS: A train cancellation on the Eurostar today
ST PANCRAS: Passengers sleep at the central London station as they face long delays
DOVER: Holidaymakers wait to board ferries at the Kent port as the busy summer travel period gets underway
DOVER: Port officials have said that holidaymakers are facing processing times of around 40 minutes
DOVER: Long tailbacks are seen as 3.2million drivers hit the roads on Frantic Friday
FRANCE: SNCF workers and French gendarmes inspect the scene of a suspected attack on the high speed railway network at Croiselles
The Prime Minister has also urged people going to Paris for the Olympics to heed the travel advice.
Sir Keir’s spokeswoman said: ‘Obviously the situation is concerning, and like the statements you’ve seen from the French, it is also incredibly frustrating for people travelling to attend the Games and the Olympic ceremony.
‘The Prime Minister would urge people to continue to follow the travel advice and the statements from the travel operators.’
The spokeswoman added: ‘Irrespective of this disruption, it is very clear that both in France, here and around the world, everyone is hugely excited and looking forward to what will be an incredibly successful Olympic Games, and we won’t let disruption overshadow that.’
French rail company SNCF said a series of incidents overnight had affected travel to and from London beneath the Channel, to Belgium and across the west, north and east of France.
Three fires were reported near the tracks of the French Atlantique, Nord and Est high-speed lines by local media.
The French sports minister has described the rail attacks across France as ‘unacceptable’.
Speaking to Sky News, Amelie Oudea-Castera said: ‘I condemn them extremely strongly. It’s just unacceptable.
‘It’s probably a large-scale sabotage with some malicious acts, probably co-ordinating. We’re still in the process of analysing all the impacts, accessing what we’re going to implement as solutions because it’s going to have impacts also over the weekend.’
Fears are mounting that Moscow may have been behind the attack after an alleged Russian spy was arrested this week.
Kirill Gryaznov, 40, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with working ‘with a foreign power to try and incite hostilities in France’ after being identified as working for the FSB, Vladimir Putin’s domestic intelligence agency.
Gryaznov – who denies any wrongdoing – is said to have boasted about turning the start of the Paris Olympics into ‘an opening ceremony like no other’.
Last night, with just hours to go before the opening ceremony on the River Seine, fires were started at key installations, bringing trains to a halt and affecting around 800,000 passengers.
Eurostar said: ‘Due to co-ordinated acts of malice in France, affecting the high-speed line between Paris and Lille, all high-speed trains going to and coming from Paris are being diverted via the classic line today Friday July 26.
‘This extends the journey time by around an hour-and-a-half. Several trains have been cancelled.
‘Eurostar’s teams are fully mobilised in stations, in the call centres, and onboard to ensure that all passengers are informed and can reach their destination.’
The company said customers were being informed via email, text and on the Eurostar website. Any affected passengers can cancel or refund their tickets or modify their journey free of charge.
In an update to the earlier statement, the rail operator said: ‘We encourage our customers to postpone their trip if possible.’
FRANCE: Employees of SNCF railway company speak to passengers waiting for their trains’ departure at the Gare Montparnasse train station
MANCHESTER: Passengers queue at the airport on the first weekend of the summer holidays
MANCHESTER: Pictures show passengers waiting in long queues as they embark on summer getaways
PARIS: Rail passengers wait inside the Gare du Nord train station amid delays after a ‘massive arson attack’ hit France’s rail networks
PARIS: Passengers sit on the floor as they wait for updates following a series of attacks
PARIS: Police officers patrol the areas after high-speed rail traffic to the French capital was severely disrupted
PARIS: Passengers wait inside the Gare du Nord train station on the day that the 2024 Summer Olympics starts in the capital
PARIS: Passengers gather around the departure boards at the Gare Montparnasse train station
PARIS: Travelers check trains on an electronic board at the Gare de Montparnasse
SNCF said the situation should last ‘at least all weekend’ but teams are already on site carrying out checks and beginning repairs.
The operator advised its passengers to postpone their journeys and ‘not to go to the station’.
Adding to the chaos, an airport located at the Swiss-French border was evacuated due to a bomb alert. Basel-Mulhouse airport’s terminals were evacuated on Friday morning and all flights had been suspended. It was later reopened.
Eurostar passengers have spoken about the delays caused by arson attacks that have disrupted the French rail network.
While most trains going from St Pancras to Paris are running on time, journeys have been extended by 90 minutes because of diversions, Eurostar said in a statement.
However, passengers anxious to absorb the atmosphere in Paris during the opening ceremony said they were disappointed their time in the city would be cut short because of the delays.
Hadassa Goncalves made the journey from Sao Paulo, Brazil, but missed her 7am train to Paris when she by arriving too late.
The 24-year-old now plans on getting a 12.30pm service, which was meant to arrive in Paris for 3.48pm but will now get in at 4.48pm.
She told the PA news agency: ‘We want to see the opening ceremony. This is bad for us. We don’t have tickets but we want to see the fireworks.’
In Britain, the RAC has warned of delays all week after schools broke up for the summer holidays and they have dubbed today as ‘Frantic Friday’ with an estimated 3.2million cars set to his the road.
Thousands of cars are descending on the Port of Dover, with border processing times currently taking 40 minutes.
Traffic is still flowing on the Jubilee Way overpass from the A2 to the port’s Eastern Docks as measures to stop the influx of travellers from being backed up through Dover appear to be working.
Port officials and police officers are stationed at the entrance to the Port, at the bottom of the Jubilee Way flyover and along the A20.
The officials in high-visibility waist coats are in position in anticipation for long queues which often form on the busiest travel days.
Brief spells of freight traffic have caused traffic to be backed up onto the harbourside A20 road.
Rail and Tube passengers are also facing travel chaos today, with severe delays on the Bakerloo Line and minor delays on the Central and Elizabeth lines. The London Overground is partly closed between Hackney Downs and Chingford this weekend.
Rail passengers outside of London are also facing mayhem, with rail company Northern issuing a ‘do not travel’ warning for Sunday in parts of North West England due to staff shortage.
The chaos follows major travel disruption since last Friday after a flawed IT update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike knocked many global services offline.
Congestion on Britain’s roads is set to peak on Saturday, with 3.6million journeys expected, according to the RAC. This will be followed by another 2.9million trips on Sunday.
A further 4million getaways are planned at some point between Friday and Sunday, meaning a total of 13.8million trips could be made throughout the course of the weekend.
The RAC said its records show these three days will form the second busiest summer getaway weekend since 2015.
In that time only 2022 has seen more trips made, with 18.8million taking to their cars during the heatwave that came at the end of two years of Covid-related restrictions.
Analytics firm Inrix has warned drivers to avoid travelling between 12pm and 5pm on both Friday and Saturday and between 11am and 1pm on Sunday when the worst delays are forecast.
The best times to travel are expected to be after 6pm on Friday and Saturday, or 3pm on Sunday.
The single worst queue, of more than two hours, is predicted on Saturday lunchtime on the M5 heading south between junction 15 for the M4 interchange near Bristol, and junction 23 for Bridgwater, as holidaymakers flock to Devon and Cornwall.
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: ‘Anyone heading off on holiday on Saturday or Sunday should expect a weekend of woe on the roads with journeys taking far longer than normal.
‘If you can’t set off really early, then it’s highly likely you’ll be sitting in traffic for quite some time.
‘Our research suggests this year’s getaway is set to be busier than average, possibly due to the UK inflation rate having slowed, giving people a bit more confidence to spend.
‘However, with our recent bad weather causing an increase in international travel bookings, queues to major airports should not be underestimated. We’d advise drivers to plan their routes well in advance if jetting off abroad this week.’
Britons heading to holiday destinations by train also face disruption on certain routes over the coming week due to engineering works.
A major project to replace a 150-year-old bridge over the railway near Hackney Downs in East London began over the weekend and will run until Sunday, August 4.
This means Greater Anglia services between Bishops Stortford to Stratford will not operate all fortnight.
In addition, routes between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge and all Stansted Express trains will divert via Seven Sisters instead of running via Tottenham Hale – extending journey times.
This means Seven Sisters station is expected to be much busier than usual, with a one-way system in operation at peak periods.
Commuters at London Euston railway station last Friday during the global IT outage
London Overground services to and from Liverpool Street and Chingford will also be disrupted by the works.
Elsewhere, in Kent buses will replace Southeastern trains between Sittingbourne and Sheerness-on-Sea this weekend due to repairs on the Kingsferry Bridge.
East Midlands Railway passengers will be affected by works at the weekend, with buses running between Market Harborough, Leicester and Kettering.
And buses will also replace CrossCountry trains between Leicester and Nuneaton this weekend.
South Western Railway travellers will be also impacted by works taking place between Surbiton and Effingham Junction via Claygate, closing all lines.
Those staying at home are set to enjoy a mini-heatwave with temperatures set to hurtle past 30C – making it hotter than parts of South Africa and Brazil.
As families embark on their summer getwaways, temperatures could climb to 27C today.
But Sunday could see the hottest day of the year so far, as sunseekers hope the mercury sizzles above the 31.9C recorded in St James’s Park on July 19.
It comes after a disappointing start to July, where the wet and chilly start has barely materialised into the Great British summer many had pinned their hopes on.
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