A Thalys train, which linked Brussels-Midi station to Paris-Nord station in France, is stopped near Antoing due to a technical problem with the motor caused by the collision of an animal , a spokeswoman for the railway company said on Friday. The train has been stopped since 3:55 p.m.
Damage to the train’s motor caused smoke to develop. For safety reasons, the train had to be completely stopped and the electricity cut off. This means in particular that the approximately 350 passengers no longer benefit from air conditioning. “The doors of the train were opened and water was distributed”, assured the spokesperson. Firefighters are at the scene, she added. The railway company is examining the possibilities of evacuating passengers. “The train is blocked at a real railway junction, which makes evacuation complicated. But we are trying to evacuate them as quickly as possible”, stressed the spokesperson.
Sabine, one of the passengers, denounces the lack of information communicated. “We didn’t know anything until they told us to evacuate the train. The fire brigade and the police evacuated us”, she laments.
The 350 passengers then got off the train as a safety measure. “The City of Antoing had to take care of them. We made a room available with toilets and drinks”, Mayor Bernard Bauwens told us. Sabine, one of the passengers, denounces the lack of information communicated. Buses were then chartered to pick up these passengers. On the other hand, electricity has not yet been restored to the line by Infrabel.
The power cut also had an impact on other Thalys trains, which also had to be stopped with the air conditioning turned off. François, a passenger on a train following the accident victim, testifies via the orange Alert us button. “I left at 4:17 p.m. from Brussels-Midi to go to Lille. I was going to see family. But our train had to backtrack”, he reports. Before adding: “And now we are stuck at the entrance to Brussels”.
Again, the doors of the trains were opened and water was distributed. “We are doing everything we can to restore the situation as soon as possible”, guaranteed the spokesperson for Thalys. Rail traffic should resume shortly.