Hauts-de-France: preventive cancellation of trains due to orange alert for storms

Regional and freight trains will be preventively canceled in Hauts-de-France at the end of the day on Thursday, when 39 French departments, including all those in this region, will have been placed on orange alert due to storms, SNCF indicated.

The Beauvais-Abancourt-Le Tréport and Amiens-Compiègne lines will be interrupted from 6:00 p.m. and no trains will run from 7:00 p.m. from Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise to Etaples/Le Touquet nor to Arras and Béthune, specifies the SNCF in a press release at midday. These “stop circulation” measures, that is to say the preventive stopping of rail traffic”, aim to “prevent trains with passengers from being blocked on the line due to falling trees in particular”, further specifies this source. The interruption of traffic on Thursday evening could also have consequences on the circulation of the first trains on Friday morning, warns the SNCF.

In a bulletin published at midday, Météo-France placed thirty-nine departments, including the five of Hauts-de-France, on orange alert for storms as of Thursday afternoon. Local phenomena of hail and heavy rain and gusts of wind could occur there, specifies Météo-France. A “particularly marked first stormy pulse is expected from the Massif Central to Burgundy and the Vosges, accompanied by very intense storm cells”, according to this bulletin. And the “second concerns Pays-de-la-Loire, Normandy, Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France”, again according to Météo-France.

Thunderstorms may be accompanied by “medium to large” hailstones, i.e. 2 to 5 cm, according to Météo-France, but also heavy rain and gusts of wind up to 100 km/h, or more locally. Vigilance could also be extended to other departments.