It's unclear at the moment, no one really knows what is the larger context. However, Transport Minister Volker Wissing spoke at a press conference earlier about what he calls "targeted and willful" approach and a "clearly intentional act."
Note: No One Knows Who the Perpetrator/s Are
Nevertheless, the official word used is sabotage is the reason for train cancellations.
Previously, Deutsche Bahn had already mentioned sabotage as the reason for the failures. "Due to sabotage of cables that are indispensable for train traffic, Deutsche Bahn had to stop train traffic in the north this morning for almost three hours," said a spokeswoman. The sabotage on the cables would have triggered a disturbance of the train radio.
Fiber Optic cables were cut, which caused "a disruption of the digital train radio GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications - Rail) and "serves to communicate between the control centers that control train traffic and trains and is therefore an indispensable part of smooth train traffic."
No One Was Hurt, Simply Traffic was Disrupted for 3 Hours
it was said that fiber optic cables had been deliberately damaged at the Karower Kreuz in Berlin and in Herne in NRW [Nord Rhine Westphalia]. The backup system was also down.
This happened in two different parts of the country simultaneously.
The Good News Is
Ticket price will be refunded
Even after the resumption of rail traffic, irregularities and interruptions continued. Countless travelers had previously been stranded at the train stations. Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein were affected, as the railway wrote on Twitter. Travelers can inform themselves via www.bahn.de/reiseauskunft, via the "DB Navigator" app or by phone at 030/2970.
And with that, I'm going to bed. I always hang around my diaries and participate but not tonight. Nevertheless, this seemed like an important story. Whether it has to do with what is happening east of us or not remains to be seen. My gut tells me, however, we're starting to see an escalation here first with the pipelines and now with the railroad — the infrastructure of NATO countries. Take that as you will.
Good night and good luck.
