The French authorities have reported that the incident was caused by a technical problem which is already being solved.
The usual journey of MEPs and assistants from Strasbourg to Brussels was a little bumpier on Thursday after a “small explosion” forced the evacuation of one of the trains carrying MEPs back to the Belgian capital, a parliamentary assistant told Euronews.
According to local authorities, passengers including European Parliament officials were evacuated at the Strasbourg train station due to “light smoke” emerging from the train.
Around 20 firefighters were deployed to the busy station at 2:45 pm, according to the Bas-Rhin firefighters’ office.
No injuries were reported, and the cause of the smoke was not immediately known.
The French regional train service has reported that traffic is “interrupted to and from Strasbourg due to the appearance of smoke on a train”. The service was expected to be restored at around 6 pm.
“Every effort is being made to organise alternative means of transport so that everyone can return [to Brussels] as soon as possible,” Parliament sources explained.
The European Parliament is in contact with “the competent authorities” as they “work to resolve the situation as quickly as possible”.
Parliament declined to provide details of how many MEPs were affected by the incident but said that “travellers are informed”.
Parliament declined to give details of the nature of the incident. The MEPs were on their way back from the plenary session in Strasbourg, which ran from Monday to Thursday.
