Chaos struck the French Riviera railway networt as an abandoned suitcase sparked a major disruption to train travel. On Friday, March 14, just before the evening rush, a suspicious piece of luggage was discovered on a platform at Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, grinding SNCF services to a halt.
The SNCF TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur team quickly took to X to announce a complete suspension of train traffic between Menton and Nice. Initial estimates pegged a resumption around 16:30, with the operator citing the abandoned bag as the cause. However, the standstill stretched far longer than anticipated, with services only beginning to trickle back online at 19:10.
“Traffic is resuming progressively,” the operator later confirmed, cautioning passengers that delays would linger as the network recovered. The incident, unfolding in the heart of Monaco, underscores the Principality’s pivotal role along the bustling Côte d’Azur rail corridor, where even a single disruption can ripple across the region. For now, the Riviera’s travellers are back on track—albeit with a sigh of relief and a wary eye on their surroundings.
