The unearthing of a 500-kilogramme World War II bomb near tracks outside Paris on Friday halted traffic and stranded thousands of passengers in one of the biggest rail disruptions in the French capital for years.

The cascade of transportation woes hit morning rush-hour train services before spreading to the road network, with Paris police closing the A1 highway that feeds into the north of the city, as well as sections of the capital’s always-busy ring road.

PARIS (AP) — The disposal of what Paris police called an “excessively dangerous” unexploded World War II bomb caused hours of transportation chaos Friday on rail and road networks in the French capital, including the suspension of high-speed train links with London and Brussels.