If you thought your morning commute was bad, imagine showing up at the station only to find out your train got canceled—because of a 500-kilogram World War II bomb.
Yep, that’s exactly what happened at Paris’ Gare du Nord, where all traffic screeched to a halt after railway workers stumbled upon an unexploded relic just 2.5 km from the station.
The discovery turned Friday travel into a logistical nightmare.
Eurostar trains? Canceled. Suburban trains? Stalled. Roads? Gridlocked.
Many Disappointed And Frustrated By The Delay
Commuters were left scrambling for alternatives, with some stuck at London’s St. Pancras station and others stranded in Paris.
“I’m really upset, disappointed, frustrated, stressed,” said Michelle Abeyie, whose birthday trip to Paris was derailed.
Meanwhile, Owen Pritchard took a more practical view: “I don’t want to be on a train running over unexploded WWII ordnance.”
After a tense operation, bomb squads neutralized the device, and train services gradually resumed by evening.
But finding such a massive bomb? “Really quite exceptional,” admitted rail official Matthieu Chabanel.
The real question: how many more are still buried under Europe’s busiest transport hubs?
