France Hit by National Train Strike Wednesday June 11,2014

French commuters faced traffic chaos on Wednesday amid a national train strike called by trade unions in protest against a proposed railway reform aimed at containing the sector's soaring debt.

The 24-hour strike began on Tuesday evening, but its main impact will be felt on Wednesday June 11,2014 with train links to other countries also hit, according to the SNCF state rail body.

Only one high-speed TGV out of two or three will run, and regional trains will also be affected, particularly in the busy Paris region.

Eurostar trains to and from London will run as normal, while three out of four Brussels- and Amsterdam-bound Thalys trains will be operational.

Trains to Germany will be unaffected, but those going to Spain will be disrupted.

The state rail firm advised passengers to put off their travel if possible, and for those travelling in by road to consider car-pooling.

A passenger looks at an information board at the Gare de l'Est train station at the start of a national strike by French SNCF railway company employees on June 10, 2014

 Both CGT-Cheminots and SUD-Rail, respectively the first and third largest rail unions in the country, have told the government workers will walk off the job next Tuesday at 7pm, while the strike would initially be for 24 hours, it could be extended to more days.

The strike is timed to coincide with the French parliament's debate a draft rail reform bill from 17th-19th June,2014.The bill, which proposes a restructuring of the SNCF and Réseau ferré de France (RFF) to improve their cost-effectiveness and competitiveness, has faced strong criticism from unions. They have complained the proposal does nothing to solve the company’s debt problem and does not go far enough in the reunification of the two companies, which were separated in 1997.