Rail Sabotage Disrupts German Networks

Police probe coordinated rail sabotage Germany cases

A cable duct fire discovered by a locomotive driver near Düsseldorf on Thursday triggered the largest ­rail sabotage Germany investigation since 2022. Officers from the state security division say the blaze, which destroyed signalling and communication lines on the Düsseldorf–Duisburg corridor, was set deliberately. Five separate cables running a total of roughly 100 metres had to be replaced overnight, confirming what detectives call a “targeted strike” on infrastructure rather than an accident.
Investigators are reviewing a statement published on the far-left platform Indymedia, where a group styling itself “Kommando Angry Birds” claimed responsibility. Interior officials caution that the text’s authenticity has not yet been verified and do not rule out copy-cats. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul nonetheless labeled the act “politically motivated sabotage” and vowed to tighten patrols along critical routes.

Traffic paralysis hits tens of thousands of passengers

The Düsseldorf–Duisburg section carries hundreds of long-distance and regional trains each day, linking the Rhine-Ruhr conurbation with Berlin, Frankfurt, the Netherlands and both the north and south of Germany. Deutsche Bahn rerouted high-speed services, cancelled stops at several intermediate stations and laid on bus shuttles to Düsseldorf Airport. By Friday evening the company estimated that rail sabotage Germany incidents had disrupted journeys for “tens of thousands” of commuters and holiday-makers during peak summer travel.
Regional lines S1, RE 1, RE 5, RE 6 and RE 19 were diverted or truncated; in Duisburg-Großenbaum tracks were inaccessible for more than 24 hours. Freight trains were redirected onto a parallel goods route after emergency construction in Wedau was halted to free up capacity.

Repairs restore NRW corridor as new sabotage emerges

After around-the-clock work, engineers completed the last splice shortly before dawn on Saturday and the north–south axis reopened. “Everything is running as it should,” a Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman said as substitute buses were stood down. Yet even before NRW operations normalised, a fresh cable fire was detected near Webau in Saxony-Anhalt on a line used mainly for coal transport. Early findings again point to arson, reviving fears that perpetrators are striking multiple regions in rapid succession.
Federal police are analysing residues from both scenes to determine whether identical accelerants were used. So far no group has admitted involvement in the Webau incident, and authorities have not confirmed a direct link, but they note the similarity in methods: concealed ignition sources placed inside cable channels critical for signal control.

Security and political fallout from rail sabotage Germany

Thursday’s attack exposed the vulnerability of Germany’s rail backbone just as the network undergoes long-planned modernisation. Parliament’s transport committee will meet in an extraordinary session next week to review protective measures, including the installation of thermal sensors in cable ducts and an expansion of CCTV coverage along open-track sections. Lawmakers from the governing coalition argue that secure mobility is a precondition for shifting freight from road to rail under climate targets.
Intelligence services are also updating threat assessments for left-wing extremism following a recent cluster of infrastructure attacks. While right-wing offences still dominate statistics, officials say skilled arson of signalling cables can paralyse commerce more effectively than street demonstrations, drawing new attention from fringe activists. Rail operator Deutsche Bahn has meanwhile urged passengers to check schedules frequently in the coming days, warning that residual delays could persist if further sabotage occurs.