Power cut halts all TGV, Eurostar and local trains in northern France

[Update July 20 at 13:25 - Traffic was due to get back to normal by around 12:00 today, so trains should be running normally this afternoon.]

TGV, TER, Eurostar and Thalys traffic is at a complete standstill this morning (July 20) in the Hauts-de-France region because of an electrical fault in Lille.

Trains are starting to run again now but services are expected to be disrupted for some time.

“An electrical power cut in the Lille Flandres and Lille Europe stations is preventing all rail circulation. Traffic is suspended in Hauts-de-France until 10:00,” the regional TER service stated at around 07:00.

Both stations were closed to the public when the fault occurred.

It is not yet known how the power cut occurred, although it may be linked to the high temperatures the region – and country – have experienced in recent days.

Enedis has now been able to turn the electricity supply back on, and the first trains have now been able to begin running.

However, this morning’s suspension is set to cause significant delays, at least for the rest of the morning and potentially for the remainder of the day.

“Today threatens to be a particularly disrupted day,” Franck Dhersin, vice president of Hauts-de-France’s transport department, told AFP.

Passengers are encouraged to pay close attention to online and station departure boards to check that their train is running.

This comes after another power cut in Paris’ Gare du Nord also disrupted rail traffic between the capital and Amiens yesterday (July 19).

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