The coordinated attacks took place early Friday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).
Paris:
Seven of France’s 10 high-speed trains will run on three major routes on Saturday, a day after saboteurs paralyzed much of the train network as the Olympic Games began in Paris.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the coordinated nighttime arsons on cable boxes at strategically located intersections north, southwest and east of the French capital, where the Olympic Games opening ceremony took place on Friday evening.
Railroad workers foiled an attempt to destroy security equipment on a fourth line in what the SNCF rail company called a “massive attack.”
“On the North, Brittany and Southwest high-speed lines, an average of seven out of ten trains will run with delays of one to two hours,” SNCF said in a statement.
SNCF officers worked all night in difficult conditions in the rain to improve traffic on high-speed lines affected by the acts of sabotage.
“At this stage, Sunday traffic will remain disrupted on the North Axis and should improve on the Atlantic Axis for the weekend results,” the report said.
“Customers will be contacted by text message and email to confirm the operation of their trains.”
The SNCF estimated that around 250,000 passengers were affected on Friday. Minister of Transport Patrice Vergriete said that 800,000 people could be affected by the consequences in the next three days.
The coordinated attacks took place early Friday at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT).
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