Suspected sabotage disrupts Dutch trains, level crossings
ProRail said deliberately placed pipes triggered more than 20 signalling faults and halted trains as police investigated possible sabotage.
- On Tuesday, a major outage hit the Dutch railway system after security systems were disrupted in 20 different places. ProRail, the company managing the infrastructure, is treating the cause as possible sabotage.
- Railway workers discovered 'materials' deliberately placed on the tracks at 5.30 a.m., causing track-circuit failures. The objects disturbed sensors monitoring train locations, forcing signals to turn red and interfering with safety systems, a spokesman told NOS.
- Train services around Zwolle, Deventer, Amersfoort, and Utrecht faced severe delays during the morning rush hour. The Reisplanner app used by travellers to plan journeys was also out of service during the disruption.
- Thousands traveled to The Hague to watch Willem-Alexander participate in the annual budget procession, coinciding with the railway disruption. The royal family traditionally rides through the city in horse-drawn carriages to mark the government's legislative programme.
- Trains running through Utrecht and Zwolle, including routes to Schiphol, are expected to resume from 10 a.m. The National railway company advised travelers to check the app for updates, as it remains unclear when services will fully normalize.
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Connections to Germany were also affected: In the Netherlands, the rail network operator has discovered pipes attached to tracks at more than 20 locations. Police, prosecutors and intelligence officers are investigating.
Dutch police are investigating possible sabotage that brought much of the country's rail traffic to a standstill on Tuesday morning.
"Objects have been found at various points on the tracks, where they were deliberately placed," said the ProRail railway network operator in a statement. "This causes failures in different sections. It seems to be sabotage," the operator added. A train hit one of the tubes, but there were no injuries, ProRail spokesman Joke van der Cruysen said. The alleged sabotages made circulation in the centre and east of the country almost impossible and al…
Unknown people put pipes on tracks in the north and in the middle of the country. The entire network was disturbed.
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