Rail sabotage continues to cause Olympics travel chaos

The impact of coordinated sabotage on the French high-speed rail network before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics continued to cause chaos on day one of the Games.

- ANDY GREGORY, SIMON CALDER

In the early hours of Friday, saboteurs destroyed signalling and power cables at key locations on the lines to the north, east and on the Atlantic coast. An attempt to do the same on the south line to the Mediterranean was foiled.

As the first athletes began competing for medals yesterday, thousands of people planning to travel to Paris remained stranded after trains and flights were cancelled. Four of the 15 planned Eurostar services were cancelled yesterday.

After arriving in Paris by air yesterday morning, The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder said: "Charles de Gaulle airport is quieter than usual because the normal crowds of connecting passengers simply aren't here. But there will be relief that the airports and the airspace are getting back to normal.

"The next challenge, according to the pan-European air navigation coordinator Eurocontrol, will be handling the exodus after the closing ceremony on 11 August."

On the railways, the travel chaos is not over yet, with disruption set to continue throughout today before returning to normal tomorrow, according to French transport minister Patrice Vergriete.

The sabotage incidents brought a warning that the "French are under attack" from rail operator SNCF's chief executive, JeanPierre Faranadou. He said the fires that brought trains to a halt were "a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack", with Mr Vergriete describing people fleeing from the scene and the discovery of incendiary devices.