Sabotage on Railway in Germany Following Similar Incident in France
In Germany, unknown attackers set two cables on fire this morning on the railway line between Bremen and Hamburg. As a result of this incident, ICE high-speed trains travelling from North Rhine-Westphalia to Hamburg are not passing through Bremen Central Station but are being detoured, according to railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB). The track complications will last at least until Monday evening.
The case is being investigated by the criminal police and intelligence services due to a possible political motive.
According to the police, traces and evidence will indicate that the attackers deliberately set fire to the cables in a cable mine in the Burgerpark district of Bremen. The fire brigade managed to extinguish the fire quickly.
Due to the investigation and repair work, the railway line between Bremen and Sagehorn is only partially accessible. As a result, there have been delays and cancellations in urban and intercity transport since early morning.
ICE trains between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg were initially unable to stop at Bremen main station. Later, long-distance trains in the direction of North Rhine-Westphalia stopped again in Bremen, but with delays, according to Deutsche Bahn.
ICE trains from the southwest to Hamburg will continue to be diverted via Kirchweig (Deepholz).
Deutsche Bahn recommends travellers to use local trains between the main station and Kirchweighe. Regional trains on the Hamburg-Bremen route have also been affected, with metronom reporting significant delays and partial cancellations. The repair work is likely to be completed by the evening, according to Deutsche Bahn.
As a reminder, in France, on the night before the opening of the Olympics, unknown persons damaged important equipment on three high-speed railway lines connecting Paris with the regions. The arson attack on critical infrastructure and cyberattack left 800,000 passengers stranded.
Only today, the French railway operator announced that it had successfully eliminated the consequences of the sabotage on three railway lines.