Dutch police and the railway network security service have launched an investigation into a possible act of sabotage that completely disrupted train services in the central part of the country on Tuesday morning, according to Yle.
The major transport disruption affected key railway hubs in the Netherlands during the morning rush hour, impacting thousands of passengers.
National railway infrastructure operator ProRail reported deliberate damage and arson targeting cable infrastructure used to operate signalling systems and railway points.
The most serious disruption was reported around the major railway hub of Zwolle, where train services had to be completely suspended for several hours. Emergency crews and forensic experts arriving at the scene reportedly found evidence of deliberate physical interference with distribution boxes and the burning of communication cables.
Dutch law enforcement authorities are treating the incident as deliberate sabotage and have not ruled out the possibility of a hybrid attack aimed at destabilising the country’s transport system.
National security specialists have joined the investigation, as the nature of the damage suggests that those responsible had specific knowledge of the location of critical infrastructure components. Police are examining the affected sites, collecting CCTV footage and searching for witnesses who may have seen suspicious individuals near the railway tracks overnight.
European intelligence and security services have repeatedly warned in recent years of the risk of sabotage targeting transport, energy and logistics infrastructure across Western Europe.
ProRail said repair crews had managed to contain the effects of the damage and partially restore services by midday, although additional time would be required to complete the repairs.
Dutch authorities said security around key infrastructure facilities would be strengthened and transport security protocols reviewed to help prevent similar incidents.
