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Deutsche BahnIt was sabotage – paralyzed train traffic in northern Germany
On Saturday morning, rail traffic in northern Germany had to be largely stopped. Now the railway explained that saboteurs were behind it.
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Due to a technical fault, there were many train cancellations in northern Germany on Saturday morning.
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Long-distance traffic was temporarily completely suspended.
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Regional traffic was also affected.
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After finding two severed cables, everything points to sabotage.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the interruption of rail traffic in large parts of northern Germany is due to criminals. “Due to sabotage of cables, which are indispensable for train traffic, Deutsche Bahn had to stop train traffic in the north for almost three hours this morning,” said a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency in Berlin on Saturday. The responsible security authorities had started the investigation. She did not initially give any further details.
Almost all train traffic in Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein was paralyzed on Saturday morning. Long-distance and regional trains were affected, including private railways. The Deutsche Bahn referred to a “failure of the digital train radio system” as a reason.
“Certain knowledge” required
The “Spiegel” reported, with reference to security circles, that both the voice radio between control centers and trains and the digital transmission of timetable data run over the temporarily failed system. It is a “central interface between vehicles and infrastructure”. The “Bild am Sonntag” had previously reported indications of external influence on cables – this required “certain knowledge”, according to railway circles. The federal police are responsible for the investigation.
The disruption was remedied in the late morning and train traffic resumed. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) announced a press statement for 2 p.m.
(AFP/DPA)
