During the “act of sabotage”, cables that were indispensable for train traffic were deliberately severed.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin After several hours of technical disruption at Deutsche Bahn in northern Germany, traffic has started again. A technical fault in the train radio had paralyzed large parts of the rail traffic in the north at the start of the weekend.
According to the Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, the widespread disturbances are due to sabotage at two locations. Cables had been severed, said the FDP politician on Saturday in Landau in the Palatinate. He spoke of “acts of sabotage”.
“Cables that are essential for train traffic were willfully and intentionally severed.” The federal police are investigating. Wissing did not provide any information on the possible motive. “The background to this act is not yet known.”
According to a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn, the severe problems in northern Germany were due to a disruption in the digital train radio GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications – Rail). “It is used for communication between the control centers that control the train traffic and the trains and is therefore an indispensable component for smooth train traffic.”
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The disruption has been rectified, according to the railway spokeswoman. Operations are slowly starting up again. “However, further impairments are to be expected.”
Almost all trains affected
Almost all regional trains are also affected by the standstill on the rails – for example all RE and RB connections in Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein, as the railway announced. Many people may have been caught off guard on the drive into the weekend.
Other regions are also affected by the complete standstill of long-distance traffic in northern Germany.
(Photo: dpa)
What exactly the disruption to the train radio was all about remained open for the time being. Initially, the railways had only spoken of a “technical fault on the route”.
“There are currently no long-distance travel options from/to Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony in/from the direction of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Berlin and NRW,” said the railway. The ICE traffic between Berlin, Hanover and North Rhine-Westphalia was also suspended.
As an alternative, Deutsche Bahn suggested travelers between Berlin and Cologne and between Berlin and Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland to use long-distance connections with a change in Erfurt and Frankfurt am Main. “Please understand that the trains that are still running sometimes have a very high number of passengers,” it said.
Busy trains and taxi car pools
Many travelers who wanted to travel from Berlin to North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, followed the train’s recommendation and took the detour with a change in Frankfurt. The result was completely overcrowded trains, as a dpa reporter from the ICE 934 reported on the journey to Frankfurt. “No getting through in the aisles because everything is blocked with passengers sitting or standing there,” he said.
Despite the train cancellations, there was no aggressive mood.
(Photo: dpa)
At the Hanover railway junction, where important north-south and east-west rail connections meet, the waiting rail passengers were largely calm, as another dpa reporter reported. Many of them would have stood shaking their heads in front of the large display board that informed about the train cancellations. But there was no aggressive mood.
In Hanover, for example, long queues formed in front of information desks. Later, the train wanted to start distributing coffee and tea to those waiting. Outside, small groups had formed at the taxi rank and tried to get by in small car pools by taxi to the next big city.
In general, Deutsche Bahn recommended that its travelers inform themselves shortly before planned trips via www.bahn.de/reiseauskunft, via the “DB Navigator” app or by calling 030/2970. The Bahn website said: “As soon as we have new information, we will keep you updated here.”
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