Eurostar, Thalys rail links with Paris halted by equipment failure

Commuters wait near a suburban train at the Gare du Nord train station after a power outage that has suspended main line services, including the Eurostar, RER commuter trains and suburban train services at the station in Paris, France, December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman

PARIS (Reuters) - An equipment failure halted all rail traffic on Wednesday at the Gare du Nord station in Paris, including the international Eurostar and Thalys train links, a spokesman at the SNCF state rail company said. The cause of the stoppage was "an electrical problem," the spokesman said. The Gare du Nord station is the Paris destination for Eurostar connections with London and Thalys links with Brussels and other north European countries. Problems with electrical equipment had already halted train services between the station and the Charles de Gaulle airport north of the capital. (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Richard Balmforth)