Suspected sabotage triggers a major Dutch rail outage during the morning rush hour
A major outage has hit the Dutch railway system and the company maintaining the rail infrastructure is treating it as possible sabotage
ProRail, the Dutch railway operator, suspects deliberate sabotage as the cause for extensive disruption of train services across the country on Tuesday morning. A total of 20 locations along the track network experienced security system disruptions, rendering it impossible for trains to operate. Railway workers discovered "materials" deliberately placed on the tracks during their 5.30am inspection, which set off sensors monitoring train presence, triggering safety systems and causing red signals.
Delays were most severe in the north of Utrecht, but the disturbances were widespread, impacting services nation-wide. Train operator NS expects services through Utrecht and Zwolle to resume around 10am. The Reisplanner app, which aids travelers in planning their journeys, was also offline during the morning rush hour. NS has urged the public to check the app before embarking on their journeys.
Speculation suggests the sabotage may have been coordinated with Prinsjesdag, a significant event marking the state opening of parliament in The Hague. This day witnesses thousands of individuals traveling across the Netherlands to witness King Willem-Alexander's carriage procession and annual speech outlining the government's legislative agenda.
Dutch News, a free-to-access news service, relies on reader donations to maintain its operations. Support is crucial for reporting on issues of public interest and delivering daily summaries of the most important Dutch news stories.
Written by urgent.news from DutchNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
