VIDEO. SNCF: A fire near the TGV South-East lines disrupts traffic between Paris and the Mediterranean, affecting thousands of passengers.
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Thousands of passengers were stranded or left without trains on Tuesday, July 1st, following a fire on the A9 motorway in the Gard department, north of Avignon (Vaucluse). SNCF does not expect services to return to normal this evening.
On the banks of the A9 motorway in Roquemaure, Gard, north of Avignon (Vaucluse), impressive flames were filmed by a motorist. The fire swept through 35 hectares of vegetation in a few hours on Tuesday, July 1st. Firefighters intervened with heavy aerial resources . But the very high temperatures and drought made their work difficult.
Although the fire was contained on Tuesday evening, traffic on the nearby TGV Méditerranée line had to be suspended at Avignon station. All southeastern TGV trains are experiencing significant delays, and hundreds of passengers were left waiting at Marseille station (Bouches-du-Rhône). Some trains heading to Paris are running up to 5:30 hours late. SNCF does not expect a return to normal service on Tuesday evening.
