At 6am on Monday, major disruptions in rail traffic between France and Luxembourg were caused by "a rupture of the catenary in Berchem". No trains were able to operate between 6am and 1.40pm. Rail traffic was "partially restored" at around 1.30pm on Monday.
A catenary is a system of overhead wires supplying electricity to a train or other light rail vehicle.
While it was initially expected that traffic would return to normal on late Tuesday morning, CFL ended up announcing that "the repair work in Berchem has been completed and train traffic between Luxembourg City and Bettembourg will resume at around 1.30pm according to schedule". However, CFL remains cautious and points out that "some delays may still occur".
CFL also formally apologised to commuters, the vast majority of whom are cross-border workers living in France, for the inconvenience caused.
Following the disruption on Monday, substitute buses were put in place in both directions between Luxembourg City, Bettembourg, and Thionville.
Many trains have been cancelled or delayed over the past thirty hours due to this electrical problem. This has led a number of Twitter users to express their incomprehension, with reports of "buses leaving Bettembourg station completely overloaded", and long queues quickly forming.
In addition, there are currently infrastructure problems on the line between Troisvierges der Gouvy, Ettelbruck and Diekirch. Traffic disruptions on this line can be expected throughout the day.
The location of the broken catenary:
Travellers are asked to consult www.cfl.lu or the CFL mobile application.
