Eurostar trains to London and all trains heading to northern France were brought to a halt Friday following the discovery of an unexploded World War II era bomb on tracks leading to the nation’s busiest station.

The police successfully defused the explosive device, which weighs more than 1,000 pounds and was found near tracks north of the French capital during landscaping work.

Paris' Gare du Nord, Europe's busiest train station, ground to a halt on Friday while an unexploded World War Two bomb was defused, causing the cancellation of all Eurostar trains for the day and huge disruptions to nearby traffic.