Strike halts Belgium trains, including Eurostar

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

BRUSSELS (AFP) — A 24-hour strike paralysed Belgium's rail system on Tuesday, shutting down local lines as well as international services such as Eurostar trains between Brussels and London.

"No trains are running," Fanny Charpentier, a spokeswoman for Infrabel, which manages the country's railway lines, told AFP.

Belgian train commuters had to find alternatives ways to get to work while high-speed Thalys routes to France, Germany and the Netherlands were also idle.

Eurostar trains normally bound for the Belgian capital were getting no further than Lille in northern France, though the lines between Paris and London were unaffected.

The Brussels underground Metro system was also running normally.

The railworkers strike over pay and conditions...