Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose in not-so-gay Paris, which has been hit by labor issues and strikes—and now a fire at the busy Gare de l’Est train station.
Train service came to a halt yesterday after two fires at a signal point damaged 600 cables during the morning rush hour. The fire began at 8:30 am in a suburb of Paris. Officials originally hoped to quickly restore service but soon canceled all trains for the remainder of the day, and cautioned service might still be disrupted on Wednesday.
The fire was set deliberately, rail operator SNCF said; France’s transport minister Clément Beaune described the arson as a “malicious act.”
Regional TER trains and long-distance TGV trains to Nancy, Colmar and Reims, and to Germany were affected. France and Germany just a few days ago announced a plan to deploy a high-speed train route between Paris and Berlin, and at night train service, in 2024.
