Eurostar back to normal after storm delays

13 August 2004

BRUSSELS – Thalys and Eurostar trains resumed normal service on Friday after storms caused extensive delays.

A lightning strike which damaged a signal box just north of Paris delayed around 50 trains on Thursday.

It affected traffic between Paris, the Benelux countries and the UK.

Traffic only returned to normal at 9.15 on Friday morning.

The damage to the signal box after violent storms in Paris caused signalling problems along the entire high speed network.

This forced trains to go slower and revert to normal rail tracks, causing delays of up to three hours for the TGV, Thalys and Eurostar.

By Thursday evening, the trains were arriving two to four hours late at Brussels-Midi station.

Rail connections between Nantes, Tours and Lyon were also interrupted by tree branches which had blown onto the lines.

Subject: Belgian news