Paris' busiest train station paralyzed after discovery of WWII bomb

The bomb was discovered during track maintenance, causing the busiest station in Paris to temporarily suspend operations, affecting many high-speed trains to other countries.

North Station in Paris

AFP news agency quoted French officials as saying that rail traffic at the Gare du Nord in Paris was halted on March 7, after a World War II bomb was discovered on the tracks leading to the busiest station in Paris.

The national rail company SNCF said the unexploded bomb was found "in the middle of the tracks" overnight, during maintenance work carried out in the suburb of Saint Denis.

All traffic to the station, which serves Eurostar trains as well as high-speed and local train services, was closed as Paris police worked to defuse the bomb, believed to date back to World War II.

Gare North is the busiest station in France, serving around 700,000 passengers a day, according to SNCF. The company said it would suspend trains at Gare North until mid-morning on March 7 (local time) at the request of the police.

According to the Eurostar website, at least three morning trains were canceled as a safety precaution. Many passengers traveling to London, Brussels and elsewhere were delayed.

Authorities have not confirmed the origin of the bomb, although unexploded bombs from World War II are sometimes found in Europe during construction and maintenance work.

In the UK, according to the BBC, a total of 176 World War II bombs were found under a children's playground in the town of Wooler in the northern Northumberland region of the country, while there is still the possibility of discovering more bombs here.

The area is believed to have been a National Guard training ground and the weapons were buried at the end of the war.

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In December 2024, Wooler Parish Council secured funding to build a £150,000 comprehensive play park to add to the existing play area at Scotts Park.

But on January 14, construction workers found the first suspicious object while digging the foundation, which was later identified as a training bomb.

Another device was found the following day, prompting the Ministry of Defence to order a full search of the property. Authorities later discovered 176 bombs there.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-ga-dong-duc-nhat-paris-te-liet-vi-phat-hien-bom-thoi-the-chien-2-185250307145831359.htm