Eurostar chaos LIVE: First picture of bomb revealed as all Eurostar trains between London and Paris cancelled

Earlier we reported how bride-to-be Charlotte Liddell (10:29am) would miss the start of her hen party celebrations and now we’ve heard from another fiancée.

Serena Beck, 29, was left stranded at St Pancras International with her 13 friends after their 8.01 am train to Paris was cancelled.

She thought her hen party would have to be cancelled but the group managed to rebook on to a train to Lille and organised a minibus for the three-hour journey to Paris.

Speaking to MailOnline, she said:

I felt quite stressed when I got to the station and found out our train was cancelled. We had planned this trip for over a year and it looked like it going to be ruined. Thankfully I have a lot of good mates who worked out another plan to get us there.

How crazy that out of all days a World War Two bomb derails all of our plans.

Her friend joked it was a ‘good omen’ for the wedding.

Police in Paris have put in place a 1km-long security perimeter around the unexploded bomb found on the tracks in Saint Denis in the northern suburbs of the capital.

French media reported the cordon was doubled from 500 metres and has resulted in the lockdown of six schools and a nursing home.

It is reported the bomb will be defused at the site.

Paris police say travel chaos from the unearthing of the bomb has spread to the French capital’s road network, with a major highway and parts of its ring road severed as bomb-disposal teams work at the site of the find.

The A1 highway, a vital artery into the French capital, is closed, as are parts of the always-busy ring road around the city.

If you’re just joining us this afternoon, we have been reporting live updates on the Eurostar rail chaos after the discovery of an unexploded wartime bomb result in the suspension of all London to Paris trains on Friday.

Around 25,000 passengers are believed to have had their travel plans disrupted with many checking flights and delaying their journeys by a day as a result.

As of 12pm, here’s what you need to know:

• Eurostar confirmed all trains between London and Paris have been suspended on Friday after it was initially hoped services could resume in the afternoon
• Travellers have been offered the option to get a refund, exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date or cancel and claim a voucher for the value of their booking
• France’s transport minister said other rail services from Gare du Nord will likely be halted until at least 4pm local time (3pm UK time) as clearance work takes place
• A French rail union chief has shared a picture of the unexploded bomb which some believe may have been dropped by the RAF during the last major air raid in Paris
• Passengers have told how their weekend plans have been disrupted including one bride-to-be who will miss the start of her hen party celebrations

Officials believe the bomb discovered on the tracks at St Denis may have been dropped by the RAF during the last major air raid in Paris in April 1944.

About 670 people killed and 377 wounded during the Paris-La Chapelle operation which saw railway junctions and tracks specifically targeted to disrupt Germany in the build up to D-Day.

It was carried out by 270 RAF Arvo Lancaster and 22 Mosquito bombers, and also led to the widespread destruction of property.

In all, they dropped 2000 bombs, many of them close to La Plaine Saint-Denis, where the Stade de France has since been built.

A square close to where today’s bomb was found is today named ‘Place du 21 April 1944’, in honour of the hundreds of civilian victims.

We can now bring you more reaction from passengers who face having to rearrange their weekend plans following today’s cancellations.

Friends Ella Brown and Charlie Spath had hoped to spend the weekend in Paris but are now rebooking their train.

Ella, 21, travelled from Orange County, California to visit 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, I haven’t been to Europe before.

They looked at flights “but it’s almost more of a pain,” she said.

The first picture of the bomb which resulted in the suspension of all London-Paris Eurostar trains has been released.

Fabie Villedieu, a driver working for SNCF, France’s National Rail operator, shared a picture of the device on his X account.

He captioned it: ‘Here is the bomb (300kg) discovered last night during the railway works’

According to observers, the bomb looks like ones used by the RAF in raids like Paris-Saint Chapelle in 1944.

It appears to be a case of working out a plan B at London St Pancras where passengers are scrambling to make alternative travel arrangements.

The latest photographs show the concourse filling up with travellers, some glued to their phones after all trains to Paris were suspended.

Here is the current status of train services in Paris:

• Eurostar has cancelled all trains to and from Paris for the entire day.
• TGV: no departures and arrivals at Gare du Nord. Some trains are postponed to Gare de Lyon.
• RER B: trains depart and arrive from La Plaine Stade de France and Aulnay-sous-Bois. Traffic is very severely disrupted to the north of the line.
• RER D: postponed to Stade de France Saint-Denis. Traffic is very severely disrupted on the entire line.
• Line K: trains depart and arrive at Mitry. Traffic is very severely disrupted.
• Line H: trains depart and arrive at Saint Denis. Traffic is very severely disrupted.
• TER: Gare du Nord is not served. Traffic is very severely disrupted

Rail services at the Paris Gare du Nord station, which were halted on Friday following the discovery of a World War II bomb, will resume no earlier than 3pm GMT, France’s minister of transport has said.

‘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 4:00 pm (1500 GMT),’ Philippe Tabarot (pictured) told a press briefing.

The PA News agency is reporting five of the six flights that British Airways is operating from Heathrow to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Friday after midday are now full.

Tickets for the one with spare seats, which departs from London at 6.20pm, is being sold for £264.

A quick look on SkyScanner shows flights are available from £150 tomorrow.

Left to right: Ruby Mowle, Francesca Birch, and Charlotte Liddell

Charlotte Liddell, a bride-to-be, was on the way to her own hen party when her group discovered the cancellations.

Others in the party are already in Paris, having flown from northern England.

Ms Liddell, from London, will now fly from Leeds Bradford Airport and they hope to be in Paris this evening.

It’s the hen do without the hen! 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.’

We can now show you video of the scenes at Gare du Nord where travellers face widespread disruption today following the discovery of a Second World War bomb.

Eurostar has already confirmed no services will run between London and Paris on Friday while other local and international routes face delays and cancellations.

Passengers wait inside the departure hall at the Gare du Nord train station

Let’s bring you some reaction from Gare du Nord station in Paris where services have been at a complete standstill after a bomb was discovered on the tracks in Saint Denis, north of the capital.

Paris-based newspaper Le Parisien spoke to travellers whose weekend plans have been ruined.

French couple Magalie and Bernard, from Créteil, said they were surprised to learn the disruption was the result of a bomb.

It’s been 80 years since the war ended. I find it hard to believe that it’s that dangerous. The bomb’s ignition is obviously rust, but hey, we’ll see what the bomb disposal experts say.

Fabien, a police officer who works at the station, said:

Something like this, a shell, is a first. I’ve experienced two knife attacks but this is different.

While Three friends Anne, Rachel and Clémence saw the lighter side.

The plan was to go to London for our friend’s birthday (Clémence). But she’s bringing bad luck with transport! Last week, she had to change planes, we should have guessed!

Passengers booked on Eurostar trains to Paris have been given three options now services will remain suspended for the rest of the day.

• Request a refund
• Exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class
• Cancel and claim a voucher for the value of their booking – which is redeemable for 12 months

The PA News agency has spoken to stranded passengers at London St Pancras after their train to Paris was cancelled.

Charlotte 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.

Lauren Romeo-Smith, who was part of a group on their way to a birthday weekend, added:

We would have thought there would be more Eurostar staff, to be honest. We’re looking up flights, but our options are limited.

Here are the latest pictures we can bring you from London St Pancras station where many passengers will be hastily making alternative travel arrangements.

Eurostar has confirmed no trains will run between London and Paris today although services to other European cities such as Brussels remain unaffected.

Here is our main Eurostar story on the MailOnline website.

The rail operator has just announced services will remain suspended for the rest of the day leaving thousands of passengers with weekend plans disrupted.

Initially, it was hoped trains could run between London and Paris this afternoon but the company has now said they will be halted all day.

Eurostar 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 in the French capital.

The operator said affected passengers can exchange their ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class.

In a statement, Eurostar said:

Due to the discovery last night of an unexploded bomb from the Second World War during work carried out on the tracks in St Denis (north of Paris), traffic has been completely halted to and from Gare du Nord. As a result, all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today.

A view of the departures board at St Pancras station this morning

Eurostar is this morning urging passengers to travel on another day amid huge disruption to services caused by the discovery of a wartime bomb.

Here is what a spokesman said this morning:

Due to the discovery last night of an unexploded bomb from the Second World War during work carried out on the tracks in St Denis (North of Paris), traffic has been completely halted to and from Gare du Nord.

Traffic will only be able to resume once the mine clearance operations currently being organised by the specialised services of the Paris Police Prefecture have been completed.

Eurostar has informed its passengers and is encouraging them to travel on another day. Eurostar sincerely apologizes for the disruption and understands the inconvenience this may cause.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation during this time.

The discovery of a wartime bomb has likely caused somewhat of a surprise this morning.

Not because of what it is with unexploded devices regularly reported across France, but it is rare for them to be found in such densely-populated areas.

Railways in Paris were targeted by British and American during the Second World War to disturb German operations.

How long it takes to dismantle the bomb will depend on its size and how accessible it is.

We are reporting live updates this morning on travel disruption caused by the suspension of all Eurostar services between London and Paris.

Trains running between the European capitals have been halted until after 12pm and French officials say it’s likely only a limited service will resume this afternoon.

As of 9am, here’s what you need to know:

• Eurostar has suspended services between London and Paris after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near tracks in the French capital
• Ten services have been cancelled this morning to leave thousands of passengers stranded on both sides of the Channel
• All trains in the Paris to London direction are cancelled until at least 12.09pm
• French 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.
• The bomb was discovered at around 4am during work on tracks in the St Denis area, north of central Paris
• French bomb disposal experts are currently examining the device at the scene

Fridays are one of the busiest days of the week for Eurostar, as many leisure travellers embark on international weekend breaks.

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.

Here are some pictures we can show you from London St Pancras and Gare Du Nord this morning:

Passengers approach staff at St Pancras after services are cancelled

Travellers were also stuck at Gare Du Nord station in Paris

One British passenger captured huge crowds in the Paris station

SNCF employees in Gare du Nord station

A bomb squad has been working on the scene since 6am and are assessing the ongoing situation, French railway company SNCF confirmed.

The unexploded device was discovered at around 4am.

A 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.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as Eurostar suspends services between London and Paris after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near tracks in the French capital.

The bomb squad is currently examining the device near Gare du Nord station which has already disrupted thousands of passengers by leaving them stranded on either side of the Channel.

All trains in the Paris to London direction are cancelled until at least 12.09pm.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates throughout the day.