(June 24): Germany’s national rail operator is struggling to restore regular service after a communications system outage brought trains to a nationwide standstill late Tuesday.
Following the resolution of the issue overnight, service had broadly resumed on Wednesday morning, though some restrictions and disruption were possible, Deutsche Bahn AG said. IT experts had been able to fix the problem with the company’s GSMR digital-radio network within a couple of hours and investigations into what triggered the failure are ongoing, it added.
“We were able to stabilise the situation using an emergency system,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla was quoted as saying by Bild newspaper. “We now need to determine the cause.”
Sabotage is not suspected at this stage and either a faulty software update or replacement of components may have been responsible, local media reported, citing unidentified security officials.
Germany’s security agencies have repeatedly warned of the vulnerability of the nation’s transport and energy infrastructure. In October 2022, rail traffic in northern Germany was halted for several hours when cables were severed in what the then-transport minister called an act of sabotage.
“The nationwide failure of the train radio system demonstrates once again just how vulnerable parts of our critical infrastructure are,” Armand Zorn, a deputy caucus leader for the ruling Social Democrats, said Wednesday.
See also: Australia bets on high-speed rail line as a housing crisis fix
“Security agencies, the railway operator and the transport ministry must immediately identify the cause and promptly improve system security,” he added.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
