Eurostar trains between London and Paris cancelled after unexploded WWII bomb found

All Eurostar trains between London and Paris have been cancelled after an unexploded Second World War bomb was found near train tracks. 

Thousands of passengers are facing disruption as the cross-Channel operator halted 10 services on Friday morning.

All trains from Paris to London are suspended until at least after midday and pictures from Gare du Nord show large queues of stranded travellers.

The bomb was discovered at around 4am by workers moving earth near the tracks in the Saint-Denis area, north of central Paris.

Bomb disposal experts have been sent to the site and the operation is still ongoing.

Eurostar said in a statement: “Due to an object on the tracks near Paris Gare du Nord, we are expecting disruption to our services this morning.

“Please change your journey for a different date of travel.”

France’s national train operator SNCF said services at Gare du Nord would be suspended until mid-morning at the request of the police.

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“We invite travellers to postpone their trip,” it said in a statement.

Trains to northern France have also been brought to a halt from Gare du Nord, which is a major European transport hub and considered the world’s busiest railway station outside of Japan.

Fridays are the busiest day of the week for Eurostar, as many holidaymakers embark on international weekend breaks.

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said travel would be ”strongly disrupted” throughout the day with only limited service resuming in the afternoon.

Speaking on broadcaster Sud Radio, he said local residents and people near the train stations should have “no fear” of a risk of explosion, stressing the procedures in place for defusing and removing such bombs.

First and Second World War bombs are regularly discovered around France but very rarely in such a densely populated area.

Eurostar is giving passengers whose trains have been cancelled the option of either requesting a refund or voucher for the value of their booking, or to rebook for travel on an alternative service.

Trains between London and Brussels are unaffected.