Eurostar services between London and Paris have resumed after the removal of an unexploded Second World War bomb found near tracks in the French capital.
On Friday, the operator was forced to cancel all 32 trains scheduled to run between the cities after the discovery of an explosive near railway tracks in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
The company said it expects “normal traffic” between Paris and London on Saturday, and will run one extra service in each direction in addition to its usual timetable.
The first Eurostar train to run from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord on Saturday is scheduled to depart at 6.31am.
The unexploded bomb was found at around 4am on Friday by railway staff carrying works on the tracks, the French transport minister Philippe Tabarot told a press conference on Friday afternoon.
Thousands of passengers booked on services that day saw their travel plans wrecked as a result.
Follow the latest updates below...
Key points
- Eurostar suspends services to London after WWII bomb discovery
- Bomb found during work on tracks in St Denis area
- Refunds for cancelled services
- British Airways flights fill up following Eurostar suspension
Normal service resumes on Eurostar
07:54 , Shaun WilsonNormal service has resumed on the Eurostar following yesterday’s discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near Paris Gare du Nord station.
Live coverage paused
Friday 7 March 2025 22:21 , Josh SalisburyWe are now pausing our live coverage until tomorrow, when trains are expected to resume. Thank you for joining us.
French ministers thank Eurostar travellers for their patience
Friday 7 March 2025 20:29 , Josh SalisburyThe French Transport minister has thanked Eurostar passengers for their patience.
Mr Tabarot addressed all passengers who were affected by the incident at a news conference and "had a bit of a chaotic day" as a result.
He said: "I hope they will understand that we could not do otherwise, that we had to take all the usual procedures and necessary precautions, because the circumstances required us to do so."
Fridays are one of the busiest days of the week for Eurostar as many travellers embark on international weekend breaks.
Passengers whose trains were cancelled were given the option of requesting a refund or voucher for the value of their booking, or to rebook for travel on an alternative service
Trains to resume from 6pm, says French transport minister
Friday 7 March 2025 17:25 , Josh SalisburyFrench transport minister Philippe Tabarot has said trains should start to resume from 6pm.
He added that schools were evacuated and residents were asked to stay indoors as a result of the bomb's discovery, but said the bomb-disposal operation has now ended.
He said: "We are delighted and relieved that all this has come to an end."
Rail traffic is expected to resume "progressively" from 6pm, Mr Tabarot added.
He said: "The whole northern part of our country was paralysed - almost 500 trains and 600,000 people in Gare du Nord, and it affected international travel.
"I want to sincerely thank all the people who took part in this complex operation, including the residents who agreed to move away so that the work could be carried out in the best possible conditions, and the bomb-disposal experts who arrived from 4.30 in the morning, and the teams of SNCF who discovered this bomb during the night as they worked on our network.”
Eurostar expects to resume services on Saturday
Friday 7 March 2025 16:32 , Josh SalisburyEurostar has said it expects to resume services between London and Paris on Saturday.
In addition to its usual timetable, it will run one extra service in each direction.
All 32 trains due to operate between the cities were cancelled on Friday after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb in Paris.
Passengers vent frustrations amid Eurostar cancellations
Friday 7 March 2025 15:56 , Josh SalisburyPassengers have vented their frustrations after an undiscovered WW2 bomb forced Eurostar cancellations on Friday.
Charlotte Kidd, from Bath, was hoping to get to Disneyland Paris to celebrate her 30th birthday.
She said if her train was cancelled she would "try and get there some other way".
Ola Zyborowicz, 28, and Chris Gomes, 29, travelled from Ashford, Kent, to take the Eurostar to Paris for a long weekend away and to visit some friends.
Ms Zyborowicz said: "They said that the trains for today had been cancelled, which hadn't been announced online yet.
"We were a bit like, why hadn't you shared that information with everyone yet? It was an 'if you know, you know' basis."
They said they have booked a new Eurostar ticket for Saturday.
"The app was horrendous trying to change the booking that we already have so we just booked it as brand new," Ms Zyborowicz said.
Police share photographs of the World War II bomb
Friday 7 March 2025 15:24 , Megan HoweThis photo provided by the Paris Police Prefecture shows a huge unexploded World War II-era bomb that caused transportation chaos in Paris, which included the suspension of high-speed rail links with London and Brussels and the closure of a vital road artery in the French capital today.
Pictured: The bomb discovered on railway tracks
Friday 7 March 2025 15:08 , Megan HoweThe image was shared by Fabien Villedieu, Federal Secretary of SUD Rail.
He said: “ Here is the bomb (300kg) discovered last night during railway works.”
voilà la bombe(300kg) découverte cette nuit lors des travaux ferroviaires. pic.twitter.com/zNpRSuRBWC
— Fabien Villedieu (@VilledieuFabien) March 7, 2025
Eurostar said it expected to resume services tomorrow
Friday 7 March 2025 14:34 , Megan HoweEurostar said it expects to resume services between London and Paris on Saturday.
In addition to its usual timetable, it will run one extra service in each direction.
All 32 trains due to operate between the cities were cancelled on Friday after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb in Paris.
Over 200 people evacuated from operation site, state services say
Friday 7 March 2025 14:21 , Megan HoweOver 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes as French authorities worked to secure the site where the bomb was located today.
Their homes led directly into the impacted area.
According to Préfet de la Seine-Saint-Denis, a 500 metre security perimeter has been established around the unexploded bomb.
Other people near the vicinity of the operation were told to stay in their homes.
French police secure the site of WWII bomb
Friday 7 March 2025 13:48 , Megan HoweFrench police say they have secured the site where a Word War II bomb was discovered on railway tracks during overnight works.
It comes after pictures showed emergency services blocking off an access point to French railway company SNCF’s freight area in Paris.
Recap: What to know
Friday 7 March 2025 13:16 , Daniel Keane- Eurostar trains between London and Paris have been cancelled after the discovery of an unexploded bomb dating back to the Second World War near the tracks
- The disruption has left hundreds of passengers stranded at St Pancras International and Gare du Nord
- French transport minister Philippe Tabarot has said services could resume in the next few hours
- The unexploded bomb was reportedly found by workmen overnight in the Paris neighbourhood of Saint Denis
Alternative options for those travelling to Paris
Friday 7 March 2025 12:57 , Daniel KeaneEurostar 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 re-book for travel on an alternative service.
Five of the six flights that British Airways is operating from Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Friday after midday are full.
Ticket for the one with spare seats, which departs at 8.30pm, are being sold for £357.
In Pictures: Paris' closed and empty ring road
Friday 7 March 2025 12:35 , Megan HowePictures from AFP have shown Paris’ empty ring road following its closure earlier due to the location of the bomb.
Police said parts of the Boulevard Périphérique, are closed in the Saint-Denis area, as well as parts of the A1, which is a major road into the north of the city.
Bride-to-be describes travel woes following Eurostar
Friday 7 March 2025 12:23 , Megan HoweCharlotte Liddell, a bride-to-be, was on the way to her own hen party from London St Pancras when her group discovered the cancellations.
Some others in the party are already in Paris, having flown from northern England.
Ms Liddell, from London, told the PA news agency: "It's the hen do without the hen!"
She added: "We're very upset, but it's so out of our control."
Fran Birch, one of Ms Liddell's maids of honour, said: "We've got all the decorations with us."
About the bomb, she joked: "It's from World War Two. Just let it lie."
Lauren Romeo-Smith, part of a group booked to visit Paris for a birthday celebration, said: "We would have thought there would be more Eurostar staff.
"We're looking up flights, but our options are limited."
Parisian 'frustrated' by Eurostar chaos
Friday 7 March 2025 12:19 , Megan HoweA Parisian has been left feeling "frustrated" after his trip to see his partner in London was thwarted.
He had been hoping to travel to London to spend the weekend with his partner who lives there.
"There were several hundred people waiting to go through the ticket scanners and passport control who were being held back and people were calm, but it was obviously frustrating,” he said.
"They cancelled the first three trains in the morning and said we could rebook so I did rebook for a train later this afternoon but I just found out via a text message that one's been cancelled as well.
"I completely understand the need to address the risk, but the process for rebooking has become complicated, and at two points the Eurostar site has asked me to pay to rebook on later trains."
All the travel alternatives to Paris as trains brought to a halt
Friday 7 March 2025 12:12 , Megan HoweEarly Friday morning, Eurostar said: “All Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today.”
That includes all services on lines London-Paris, Paris-London, Brussels-Paris and Paris-Brussels. Trains between London and Brussels are not impacted.
The company added: “Customers can exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class. This is subject to availability.”
Read the available travel alternatives here
Passengers explore flights to Brussels and Amsterdam as they seek alternative routes
Friday 7 March 2025 12:11 , Megan HoweThe price of flights are rising today from London-Brussels and London-Amsterdam following the suspension of services on the Eurostar.
Over 100 people are currently looking at flights on the Easyjet website from Gatwick to Amsterdam today, with the lowest price being £110.99 per person.
Meanwhile, there is only one flight remaining from London-Brussels on the British Airways website.
The flight will take off at 14.55 and arrive in Brussels for 17.10 today.
Part of Paris ring road and A1 closed, police say
Friday 7 March 2025 11:39 , Megan HoweIt’s not just rail services that are being affected by the discovery of an unexploded WWII bomb.
Police in Paris are now saying two major roads have been partially closed.
They say parts of the Paris ring road, the Boulevard Périphérique, are closed in the Saint-Denis area, as well as parts of the A1, which is a major road into the north of the city.
'Services could resume in the next few hours' says French transport minister
Friday 7 March 2025 11:33 , Megan HoweContrary to an earlier update which stated that services would not be running today, the French transport minister Philippe Tabarot has said rail services at Paris Gare du Nord could begin resuming from 15.00 GMT.
According to AFP, the minister told a news briefing: "If things become safer and we get the green light from the police headquarters in the next few hours, part of the service could - and I do mean could - be restored from 16:00 CET (1500 GMT)."
'It's a bummer' says Ella Brown and Charlie Spath
Friday 7 March 2025 11:18 , Megan HoweElla Brown and Charlie Spath hoped to spend the weekend in Paris but are now rebooking their train.
Ella, 21, travelled from Orange County, California to visit her friend Charlie, also 21, on his year abroad at City University.
They planned to spend their weekend in France, but are now trying to rebook their Eurostar for tomorrow night.
"It will all work out, but it's a bummer," Ms Brown said.
"I haven't been to Europe before."
They looked at flights "but it's almost more of a pain," she said.
'App was horrendous trying to change booking', passengers say
Friday 7 March 2025 11:12 , Megan HoweOla Zyborowicz, 28, and Chris Gomes, 29, travelled from Ashford, Kent, to take the Eurostar to Paris for a long weekend away and to visit some friends.
Ms Zyborowicz said: "They said that the trains for today had been cancelled, which hadn't been announced online yet.
"We were a bit like, why hadn't you shared that information with everyone yet? It was an 'if you know, you know' basis."
They said they have booked a new Eurostar ticket for tomorrow.
"The app was horrendous trying to change the booking that we already have so we just booked it as brand new," Ms Zyborowicz said.
"We'll have to request a refund, which is a bit annoying.
“But we thought, rather than trying to waste any more holiday time, it's better to just get on with it and hope for the best."
Lowest Eurostar prices around £218
Friday 7 March 2025 11:04 , Megan HoweThe cheapest tickets for passengers hoping to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord tomorrow are £218.
Standard tickets are available from 4.30pm tomorrow, as the early services are now fully booked.
Seats are booking up quickly.
Early morning Saturday trains booked up
Friday 7 March 2025 10:58 , Megan HoweAccording to the Eurostar website, early morning services on Saturday, March 8 are already booked up, with passengers rushing to book later services.
This includes Eurostar standard, plus and premiere.
Emergency services seen blocking access to the freight area
Friday 7 March 2025 10:49 , Megan HowePictures from AFP have shown French police and emergency services blocking off an access point to French railway company SNCF's freight area in Paris.
In Pictures: Travellers queue for buses
Friday 7 March 2025 10:42 , Megan Howe
In Pictures: Passengers queue at St Pancras
Friday 7 March 2025 10:36 , Megan Howe
Everything we know about the Eurostar bomb so far
Friday 7 March 2025 10:20 , Megan HoweFollowing the discovery of an unexploded WW2 bomb, Eurostar trains between London and Paris have been cancelled all day.
Everything we know about the Eurostar WW2 bomb found in Paris
According to local media, the explosive was discovered “in the middle of the tracks” in the Saint-Denis area in France while construction was underway overnight.
What's the latest on the Eurostar bomb discovery?
Friday 7 March 2025 10:08 , Megan Howe• Eurostar has suspended services between London and Paris for the rest of Friday after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near tracks in the French capital
• Thousands of passengers face travel disruption as the cross-Channel operator was scheduled to run 32 trains in either direction throughout the day, with Friday being one of the busiest times for the station
• A large crowd of people who were booked on affected services has gathered outside the check-in area at London St Pancras station
• Five of the six flights that British Airways is operating from Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle after midday are full
• 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 re-book onto an alternative service
'We're parents, we don't want to lose our free weekend!'
Friday 7 March 2025 09:53 , Megan HoweCharlotte Kidd, who travelled to London from Bath last night to get to Disneyland Paris for her 30th birthday this weekend, said she was still hopeful of getting there in time.
She said: "We've got two hours. If not, we'll try and get there some other way."
Emma Roe, part of a group of eight friends, said they were looking up flights to go "maybe to Amsterdam from Luton, just somewhere else".
"There's no booking until 6pm tonight.
"We're all parents, so we don't want to lose our free weekend."
British Airways flights fill up following Eurostar services suspension
Friday 7 March 2025 09:31 , Megan HoweFive of the six flights that British Airways is operating from Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Friday after midday are full.
A ticket for the one with spare seats, which departs at 6.20pm, is being sold for £264.
Tickets can be exchanged, says Eurostar
Friday 7 March 2025 09:21 , Megan HoweEurostar said affected passengers can exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class.
It added that it "sincerely apologises for the disruption and understands the inconvenience this may cause".
Eurostar suspended for the rest of the day
Friday 7 March 2025 09:18 , Megan HoweEurostar has said its services between London and Paris will remain suspended for the rest of today after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb inthe French capital.
Refunds for cancelled services
Friday 7 March 2025 09:17 , Megan HoweEurostar 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 re-book for travel on an alternative service.
More information on refunds and cancellations can be found here.
It's not unusual to find bombs in France, but it is rare to find them in populous areas
Friday 7 March 2025 09:01 , Megan HoweBombs left over from the First and Second World Wars are regularly discovered in France, but it is rare for them to be found in such densely-populated areas.
How long it takes to dismantle the bomb will depend on its size and how accessible it is.
Gare du Nord also connects Paris with other international destinations such as in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as being used for domestic services.
It is considered the world's busiest railway station outside of Japan.
Bomb found during work on tracks in St Denis area
Friday 7 March 2025 08:51 , Megan HoweA spokesperson for Eurostar said it was found during work on tracks in the St Denis area, north of central Paris.
This resulted in the suspension of all services to and from Gare du Nord, which is Eurostar's station in Paris.
Services will only be permitted to resume once "mine clearance operations" by the French police are completed, the spokesperson added.
Fridays are one of the busiest days of the week for Eurostar, as many leisure travellers embark on international weekend breaks.
The bomb was discovered at around 4am.
'Limited service resuming this afternoon' says French transport minister
Friday 7 March 2025 08:42 , Megan HoweFrench transport minister Philippe Tabarot told broadcaster Sud Radio that trains will be "strongly disrupted" throughout the day, with only a limited service resuming in the afternoon.
Eurostar told passengers to expect disruption because of "an object on the tracks", and advised them to "change your journey for a different date of travel".
Change your journey to a different date of travel, Eurostar says
Friday 7 March 2025 08:27 , Megan HoweA service update "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."
Passengers stuck at Gare du Nord awaiting updates on travel
Friday 7 March 2025 08:23 , Megan HoweOne passenger has taken to X to highlight the situation at the Gare du Nord.
He wrote: “WW2 bomb was not high on the list of things I thought might disrupt my Eurostar journey from Paris this morning, but here we are… “
Large crowds gather at Gare du Nord
Friday 7 March 2025 08:20 , Megan HoweVideo footage shows large crowds gathering at the Gare du Nord as they wait for updates following the suspension of services to London.
🚨🇫🇷ALERTE - La circulation est totalement SUSPENDUE à la #GareduNord à #Paris, après la découverte d'une bombe datant de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
— Actu React Info (@actureact_info) March 7, 2025
(📹Témoin à AR) pic.twitter.com/r4jcEHNQzK
List of Eurostar cancellations
Friday 7 March 2025 08:15 , Megan HoweAccording to the Eurostar’s website, trains from London to Paris scheduled to depart before 10.30am GMT on Friday have been cancelled.
Routes from Paris to London before noon local time were also cancelled.
Services to Gare du Nord suspended until mid-morning
Friday 7 March 2025 07:47France's national train operator SNCF said in a statement that services at Gare du Nord would be suspended until mid-morning at the request of the police.
It added: "We invite travellers to postpone their trip."
Eurostar services to and from Brussels appear to be unaffected.
Eurostar suspends services to London after WWII bomb discovery
Friday 7 March 2025 07:47 , Megan HoweEurostar has suspended services between London and Paris after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near tracks in the French capital.
Thousands of passengers have had their journeys disrupted today as the cross-Channel operator cancelled 10 services on Friday morning.
All trains in the Paris to London direction are cancelled until at least midday.
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."
