European Union

Rail signalling error diverts Strasbourg-bound MEPs to Disneyland

‘We are not a Mickey Mouse parliament,’ jokes one MEP after diversion causes 45-minute delay

Lisa O'Carroll in Brussels
@lisaocarroll
Mon 16 Oct 2023 16.02 BST

With a heavy workload pushing through EU laws, members of the European parliament know a thing or two about amendments. But an unscheduled Mickey Mouse experience on their way to Strasbourg on Monday morning was something
of a first.

A French train carrying hundreds of MEPs and their teams from Brussels
ended up by accident at Marne-la-Vallée, the stop for Disneyland Paris.

Instead of the rolling hills that usually greet them as they head to the Alsatian city, MEPs were caught between the Art of Marvel and Main Street
USA, with Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and Peter Pan’s Flight in the near distance.

Emmanuel Foulon, who works with the parliament’s press team, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “‘When magic comes to life’ – will Disney’s slogan soon
be that of the European Parliament?”

Passengers on the train, told that the diversion was due to an “error in
the route”, were quick to see the funny side, prompting Disneyland to trend briefly on social media in the Belgian capital.

The location of the parliament in Strasbourg is a regular source of tension
for MEPs as there is no direct train from Brussels, forcing travellers to change either in Paris or at a station near the Disneyland complex.

Eurostar trains in St Pancras railway station, London.

Every month the parliament charters two trains for the plenary session in Strasbourg to avoid a large convoy of vehicles on the 300-mile (480km)
stretch between the two cities. But even political powerbrokers cannot make magic happen. The trains still have to travel through the Parisian area
before turning left for the historic city on the border with Germany.

One passenger onboard said they didn’t even notice they were in Mickey
Mouse land. “There was no announcement about the specific location and most didn’t identify it,” they said.

But others found the experience entertaining, though perhaps not in the traditional Disneyland sense. “Team Disneyland,” wrote the Dutch MEP Samira Rafaela, posing for a photograph with another MEP in the train’s buffet
car.

Alluding to criticisms levelled at the so-called “travelling circus” that ferries MEPs to the Strasbourg parliament, Daniel Freund, a German MEP,
joked: “We are NOT a Mickey Mouse parliament.”

SNCF Networks said the cause was a signalling error at the Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle TGV station. It apologised for the inconvenience, noting
that the diversion caused only a 45-minute delay. “The passengers arrived
at their destination at 12.50pm,” it said.

<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/16/rail-signalling-error-diverts-strasbourg-bound-meps-to-disneyland>

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