Fallen trees and lightning strikes halt trains on multiple lines across Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France after overnight storms

Extent of the disruptions

Severe thunderstorms on the night of Saturday 27 June left hundreds of kilometres of track blocked or electrically dead across northern France. The SNCF reported that a dozen large trees had fallen onto the rails near Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, destroying catenary equipment over several hundred metres. On the J line, both branches between Sartrouville and Les Mureaux via Poissy and between Sartrouville and Mantes-la-Jolie via Poissy are suspended for the entire day. The N and U lines are also badly hit, with no trains running on the La Verrière – Versailles Chantiers axis until midday and residual disruption on the U line into La Défense.

The impact reached beyond the capital. In the Hauts-de-France, TER services on several axes were halted from early morning. The Valenciennes – Aulnoye – Hirson, Aulnoye – Jeumont, Aulnoye – Busigny and Cambrai – Busigny lines all saw interruptions. On the Le Mans – Paris Montparnasse corridor, all TER and Ouigo services were cancelled after electrical installations were damaged; only high-speed TGV trains were unaffected.

Restoration timeline

By midday, one axis, Tergnier – Saint-Quentin, had reopened. The Valenciennes – Aulnoye – Hirson section was expected to resume at 16:00. Three other Hauts-de-France axes (Aulnoye – Jeumont, Aulnoye – Busigny, Cambrai – Busigny) were not forecast to return before 20:00. The Le Mans – Paris line was also given a 20:00 estimate. On the suburban network, the entire day has been written off for the two Poissy branches of the J line, with replacement buses requested for stations between Les Mureaux and Sartrouville.

Quotes from SNCF

A dozen large trees fell onto the tracks and severely damaged catenary equipment over several hundred metres.

Clearing operations are still under way by SNCF Réseau teams.

Broader storm impact

Météo-France kept the Nord département under a yellow thunderstorm warning until midnight Sunday, while the warning for Pas-de-Calais was to be lifted earlier in the evening. The storms followed a prolonged heatwave and resulted in several injuries in Normandy and northern France.

Power cuts

By late morning, 63,000 customers were still without electricity, according to Enedis. The worst-affected départements were Aisne (28,000), Nord (24,000), Yvelines (4,000) and Indre-et-Loire (1,700). In Sarthe, 140 clients had yet to be reconnected by midday.