Germany Another arson attack on the main line of Deutsche Bahn
A second arson attack has been carried out on the important north-south line of Deutsche Bahn in Düsseldorf.
01.08.2025, 12:09
SDA
The incendiary device was of the same type as the one discovered on Thursday, and damage was again caused, the police told the German Press Agency (dpa). "We assume that both attacks were carried out at the same time," said a police spokesman.
The police are assuming sabotage, the state security is investigating. A letter of confession was published on the left-wing platform "Indymedia". An "Angry Birds Commando" claimed responsibility for the acts. According to the police, the authenticity of the letter is still being investigated.
Deutsche Bahn had previously announced that the repair work on the line would take longer. The Duisburg-Düsseldorf line in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the busiest rail routes in Germany, with more than 620 trains a day - not counting freight trains.
Massive disruption to rail traffic
According to the investigators, the deliberately set fire paralyzed the line on Thursday. There are also considerable disruptions to long-distance services.
As a dpa reporter learned at the scene on Thursday, unknown persons had placed an ignition device in a cable tunnel on Thursday. A train driver saw smoke billowing out of the cable tunnel and raised the alarm.
The second fire damage was discovered during an inspection of the line on Friday around two kilometers away. There was no knowledge of any further acts in recent weeks. The letter of confession states that several attacks have been carried out in the greater Düsseldorf area.
What alternatives are there?
The railroad had set up a shuttle bus service and rerouted long-distance traffic via Dortmund and Wuppertal. In addition, construction work on a parallel freight line in Duisburg-Wedau was temporarily interrupted so that some of the traffic could be handled via this route. Nevertheless, many passengers were stranded at the main stations in Duisburg and Düsseldorf. There were numerous train cancellations and delays.
The cables belong to a signal box in Duisburg, but the fires broke out in the city of Düsseldorf, according to a railroad spokesperson.
Numerous lines affected
The damaged cables caused disruption to local and long-distance services. The ICE lines to Berlin and Frankfurt am Main were affected, as were the connections to northern Germany, southern Germany and the Netherlands, the railroad announced.
In local transport, the S-Bahn line S1 and several regional lines are affected, according to the zuginfo.nrw portal. Travel to Düsseldorf Airport is also affected.
