Unknown perpetrators set fire to three cable shafts on railway lines in Hamburg. Numerous long-distance trains between Hamburg and Berlin are canceled. The route will be reopened on Saturday afternoon.
After a suspected arson attack, the railway line between Hamburg and Berlin has been reopened. “The long-distance trains are running in both directions again,” said a railway spokesman for the dpa. However, as a result of the long closures, there could still be individual delays throughout the day. Rail traffic should run normally again on Sunday.
The situation at the main train stations in Hamburg and Berlin had already largely relaxed on Saturday morning. In Hamburg only a few travelers stood at the tracks from which connections to and via Berlin were supposed to depart. The situation at Berlin Central Station also appeared calm. A few trains were announced as delayed on the display boards, and one train to Hamburg-Altona was canceled, according to the announcement.
According to the police, cable shafts on railway lines were set on fire in three places in the Hamburg city area on Friday night. Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance traffic between Hamburg and Berlin was severely affected. According to information from the railway on Saturday, a total of 27 trains were completely canceled, 65 trains were partially canceled and 70 trains had to be rerouted via Uelzen and Hanover, which led to delays of around an hour. However, there was no major chaos at the main train stations in Hamburg and Berlin.
Faeser wants to better protect railway lines
A letter of responsibility appeared on the left-wing platform Indymedia. “On the night of September 7th, we sabotaged arteries of the capitalist infrastructure in Hamburg,” the letter says. “A few liters of gasoline in the cable shafts on the rails should lead to long-term failures or restrictions in the transport of raw materials procured, for example, in the course of neo-colonial exploitation and earth-destroying extractivism.”
However, the letter primarily refers to freight transport. The act should therefore concern sections of the route “that are not used for passenger transport”. Nevertheless, passenger traffic between Berlin and Hamburg was severely disrupted on Friday.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing called for consistent action by the rule of law. “Such attacks are a form of terrorism,” said the FDP politician.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to better protect the railway lines. The SPD politician told “Bild am Sonntag”: “Who the perpetrators were is being investigated at high speed. And it has been clear since before this act: We have to protect our railway infrastructure even better. That’s why we are increasing video surveillance: See you next “This year we are increasing the number of cameras on railway systems from 9,000 to 11,000.”
Source: Stern
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