Dutch railway network disrupted by sabotage to tracks

Train services across the Netherlands were disrupted on Tuesday in what network operators say was an act of co-ordinated sabotage.

ProRail, the company responsible for managing the track network, said security systems had been disrupted in more than 30 places, making it impossible for trains to run.

Railway workers found the first sections of pipe attached to the rails when they inspected the tracks at 5.30am. A train collided with one of the sections at Steenwijk, but no injuries were reported, ProRail said.

ProRail said the sabotage was ongoing on Tuesday, with more pipes found in some places where inspectors had removed them earlier in the day.

Spokeswoman Joke van der Cruysen told NOS there was clear evidence of sabotage and ProRail expects to find more sites during the course of the day.

“We have been to these places and carried out investigations and found materials that were intentionally put there,” she said. “So we can say the railway has been sabotaged.”

“Our priority is to make sure these materials are removed from the railway, the evidence is secured and we can restart train services as quickly as possible.”

AIVD investigating

The national intelligence agency AIVD said it was working with police to try to identify “which direction this comes from”. However, the national anti-terrorism co-ordinator would not comment on whether the saboteurs had a terrorist motive.

Later on Tuesday hay bales were set on fire on the A2, A7 and A28 motorways, a form of protest used in recent years by militant farmers’ groups such as Farmers Defence Force (FDF).

FDF spokesman Mark van den Oever had warned that wildcat actions were planned against the government’s plans to cut nitrogen pollution by buying out farmers or making them cut livestock numbers.

Environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion said it was not behind the sabotage, but seven people linked to the group were arrested after red paint was sprayed on the ground along the route of the royal procession for the state opening of parliament on Tuesday.

Junior transport minister Annet Bertram said it was “extremely concerning” that the railways had been deliberately tampered with. “This needs to be investigated thoroughly,” she said.

The biggest delays are to services north of Utrecht, but train operator NOS said the disruption would affect the entire country. NS hopes to start running trains through Amersfoort, Zwolle and Deventer again after midday.

ProRail said pieces of pipe were attached to the rails, triggering the safety mechanisms that monitor whether trains are on the track and causing signals to turn red.

Steel pipes measuring up to 2 metres long were found in at least five locations in Gelderland.

The Reisplanner app used by travellers to plan their journey was also out of service during the morning rush-hour.

NS has advised people to check the app before setting out on their journey. No replacement buses have been arranged because the disruption is too widespread, a spokesman said.

Opening of parliament

The chaos is also expected to spread to the roads because the barriers at some level crossings are permanently down due to the problems with the security systems.

A ProRail spokesman said: “Our colleagues are working hard to clear these materials and make the situation safe. Where possible we will resume train services as quickly as possible. We are also in close contact with emergency services and other relevant parties.”

Media speculated that the sabotage could have been timed to coincide with Prinsjesdag, the state opening of parliament in The Hague and one of the biggest days in the Dutch political calendar.

Thousands of people travel across the country to watch king Willem-Alexander travel through the streets in a horse-drawn carriage before delivering his annual speech setting out the government’s legislative programme for the year.

One royal fan hoping to travel from Apeldoorn told Omroep Gelderland: “We looked at the big board and I thought: ‘uh-oh’. Then my sister looked at the app and saw that there were no trains until 8.30.”