The Netherlands has awoken to a very disrupted rail network this morning. Much of the northern and eastern regions are inaccessible by train. This comes after a large-scale sabotage action that has possibly targeted six (or more) locations spread across the country.
Pipes have been attached to the tracks at various locations, says the Dutch rail infrastructure manager ProRail. It is unclear who is behind the act, and ProRail refuses to comment on the matter. The state secretary for infrastructure has called the situation “particularly worrying”. Police are investigating it.
The sabotage has caused section failures at multiple locations. “In the event of a section failure, our computer system identifies a section of track as ‘occupied’, even though there is no train present”, ProRail explained. “Because safety always comes first, signals automatically turn red. As a result, trains must stop or slow down. Level crossings can also malfunction.”
A passenger train hit an object on the tracks in the north of the country, but that has thankfully not caused any danger for the people on the train.
The Dutch freight-dedicated Betuwe Line from Rotterdam to Germany has not been affected by the situation.
Need for more resilient infrastructure
Dutch rail freight association RailGood calls for more resilient infrastructure. “In Germany and Poland there have been cases of sabotage for longer already. It was a question of time before this would happen in the Netherlands too”, its head Hans-Willem Vroon says.
“It is key that the infrastructure is made resilient at a rapid pace. You’re seeing how professional sabotage can disable the Dutch rail network towards military bases and the danger zone with Russia.”
A lot of the sabotage acts occurred in the vicinity of military bases, among which is the site where a passenger train hit an object on the tracks.
“We need an upheaval, just like with the electricity and road networks”, Vroon adds. “It is necessary to spend a certain percentage of GDP on infrastructure and funding with a state debt brake.”