Scenes emerged of hundreds of distressed passengers crammed onto platforms at various train stations across France, after a series of attacks disrupted travel routes just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Some travelers were desperate to return home after passing through the French capital, while others said they were preparing to watch the Olympic Games during their summer vacations.
Françoise, an 80-year-old woman from the coastal city of La Rochelle, told CNN she was trying to get home after receiving medical treatment in Paris.
“We didn’t need a day like this,” she said, adding that she would wait another five hours in the hope of getting on the train.
On the outskirts of Paris, passengers were left confused at Montparnasse station, one of the worst-hit stations serving western and southwestern France.
Virginia and Philip Asante told CNN they will be cheering on the Canadian soccer team at the Olympics, along with their three children, ages 6 to 11.
“I didn’t know the lines were down,” Virginia said. “We might lose our ticket for the game tomorrow too… should we take the bus?”
With the train likely to be cancelled, the family was asked to rent a car, Philip said. “We don’t want our holiday to be ruined,” he added.
Asked about the travel chaos, 6-year-old Hunter told CNN: “Yeah, I’m upset.”
Another passenger, Margaret, 24, said she felt “confused” by the confusion, and said she was at the station to change trains before returning home to Brittany, in northwestern France.
“I don’t know where to go. I’m trying to call my friends to see where I can sleep tonight. It looks like I have friends here who can let me sleep for one night,” she told CNN.
“It’s not their (SNCF’s) fault, but we knew the move would be complicated with today’s opening ceremony.”
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