Vandals hit French TGV line linking Paris with Mediterranean

Vandalism along the high-speed train line linking Paris with France's Mediterranean coast was causing hourlong delays Wednesday, the SNCF rail authority said.

The vandals burned a 150-meter (500-foot) section of electric cable that controls the train's signal system between the southeastern cities of Aix-en-Provence and Lambesc, the SNCF said in a statement.

The TGV trains that usually run on the track had to be diverted to a lower-speed track for some 130 kilometers (81 miles), the statement said.

Trains on the line were experiencing hourlong delays, it said. Because the lower-speed track does not make stops in Aix-en-Provence and Avignon, buses were shuttling passengers to and from those stations.

Technicians were working on repairing the damage, and the incident was being investigated, the statement said.

Vandals often target France's train lines. Last month, coordinated acts of sabotage struck several TGV lines, at the end of a strike by transit workers that brought French train travel to a near halt for more than a week. The SNCF stopped short of blaming strikers for the vandalism.

(πηγή: www.iht.com, 26/12/2007)