The train stoppage was due to sabotage against cables – E24
German authorities confirm that the railway shutdown in the north of the country on Saturday was due to a planned influence from outside.
The German newspaper Picture wrote on Saturday morning that the security authority had indications of external influence after thousands of passengers were affected by a train stoppage in the morning.
Well, it is confirmed that it is about sabotage.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing stated at a press conference at 2pm that the train stoppage was due to a “deliberate and willful act”.
It is about cutting cables – in Berlin and Dortmund.
– These cables are essential to ensure safe train operation, said Wissing.
Wissing informed according to the website T-online The police have started an investigation.
The reason for the sabotage is not known, and so far there are no suspects.
All regional train connections in Lower Saxony and the Bremen area were affected. Connections to and from Amsterdam and Copenhagen were also affected.
The train company Deutsche Bahn already stated earlier on Saturday to the news agency DPA that they believed it was sabotage.
– Due to sabotage against cables that are essential for train traffic, Deutsche Bahn had to stop train traffic in the north for almost three hours this morning, confirmed a spokeswoman for the railway to the German news agency DPA.
The newspaper Spiegel write that there must have been a failure in the GSM-R radio network, which is used for radio communication between control centers and trains, and digital transmission of route data.
According to Spiegel, the railway’s radio communication network failed on Saturday morning around 06:40.
The Federal Police which is responsible for the safety of rail traffic, commented on the matter on Saturday afternoon.
– We have a crime scene in Berlin-Höhenschönhausen, another in North Rhine-Westphalia, said a spokesman for Berlin’s Federal Police Directorate, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine.
He added that the case is being widely investigated, but would not provide any information on further details, according to the newspaper.
According to Spiegel, there must have been a break in a signal cable in a shaft in Karow in Berlin before the entire Deutsche Bahn network must have failed. Then the cable in Dortmund was also cut.
The trains were back in service just after 11:00 on Saturday morning.