Arson attacks on railway lines in Hamburg lead to massive train cancellations. The police suspect political motives behind the crimes. The ICE route Berlin-Hamburg is affected.
Update on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 4:48 p.m.: In view of the alleged arson attacks and similar acts of sabotage in the past, the railway expert Markus Hecht has spoken out in favor of fencing in significantly more railway lines. “In France, the railways are in the process of fenced in twice on high-speed routes,” said Hecht of the DPA. Many routes are also fenced off in Great Britain, as well as in Norway. “That would increase operational stability,” said the scientist from the TU Berlin. He has been in dispute with DB for a long time, and the group always argues that fences can easily be climbed over.
The railway rejected demands for a fence of the railway facilities on Friday. “Fencing off the entire route network is almost impossible,” said a spokeswoman for the DPA. With a route network of 34,000 kilometers, such a fence would have to reach “almost one and a half times around the world”. In addition, such a barrier would have to allow rescue workers and maintenance personnel free access to the rail network at all times.
Hecht also emphasized that there is no redundancy in most places in the signal cables – if one cable is damaged, there is no second one over which operations can continue. “In the event of cable damage, this will definitely lead to a fault,” said Hecht. All in all, he could not see that anything had changed on these safety issues at Deutsche Bahn in recent years.
Attack on Deutsche Bahn: Security chief condemns the act
Update on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 4:15 p.m.: The head of the security department at Deutsche Bahn expressed his strong condemnation of the alleged attack. “Those who want to travel with us – with one of the most environmentally friendly means of transport – are severely affected by train delays and cancellations,” explained Hans-Hilmar Rischke. “They don’t achieve their goals.”
He added: “We are in close contact with the security authorities.” At the same time, Rischke expressed the hope that the investigation would be successful quickly.
Update on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 2:22 p.m.: The train connection between Hamburg and Berlin could remain affected until Saturday due to several fire attacks. “Only in the course of Saturday morning is it likely to be possible to resume traffic between Hamburg and Berlin,” said a spokeswoman for the railway.
Since the early hours of the morning, many connections on this route have failed. The cause is several fires in cable ducts in the Hanseatic city. According to the Hamburg police, three locations along the railway line are affected. The fires were spotted between 2:30 a.m. and 3:40 a.m. According to their own statements, the investigators suspect intentional arson. A letter of confession was published on a left online platform.
Update on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 1:25 p.m.: In the meantime, a letter of confession has been published on the “indymedia” platform. On the night of September 7th, we sabotaged traffic arteries of the capitalist infrastructure in Hamburg, according to the letter of confession, which was published around 12:15 p.m. The “activists” apparently wanted to block the port railway in Hamburg. According to the letter of confession, damage to the railway connections for personal transport was not intended.
After arson attack on railway lines – ICE Hamburg-Berlin apparently only collateral damage
The arson attacks were deliberately chosen by the authors of the letter in order to hit “neuralgic points in freight transport”. According to the authors, they set the cable ducts on fire with “a few liters of petrol” and thus caused considerable damage to the lines. According to the anonymous authors of the letter, their goal – long-term failures or restrictions on the transport of raw materials procured, for example, in the course of neocolonial exploitation and earth-destroying extractivism.
After arson attack: letter of confession published on left-wing platform “indymedia”.
First report on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 12:20 p.m.: Hamburg – In the night from Thursday to Friday, September 8, 2023, in Hamburg set fire to cable ducts along railway lines at three different locations. The police suspect a political background and are asking for information.
Suspected arson attacks on the railway lines of Deutsche Bahn – ICE Hamburg-Berlin affected
Hamburg-Lokstedt – cable shaft near Deelwisch
Hamburg-Billwerder – cable duct near Walter-Rudolphi-Weg
Hamburg house rupture – cable duct near Heykenaukamp
ICE Berlin-Hamburg affected: arson attack paralyzes Deutsche Bahn rail traffic
According to the state security police (LKA 73), the first fire was discovered and reported by a train driver at around 2:40 a.m. The affected cable duct is located near the Deelwisch road in Hamburg at the goods bypass. Two more fire alarms followed during the night.
At around 3:00 a.m. a fire was reported on a route of the Deutsche Bahn in the Walter-Rudolphi-Weg area, followed by another fire at around 3:40 a.m. on a route of the Hamburger Hafenbahn near Heykenaukamp. The fire brigade was able to successfully extinguish all fires. The LKA assumes intentional arson and has started the investigation.
After arson attacks on the Hamburg-Berlin ICE route – witnesses wanted
The Hamburg police asks witnesses who have made suspicious observations or who can provide information about the possible perpetrators to come forward. Information can be given at the telephone number 040 4286-56789 or at any police station.
In particular, the fire on Walter-Rudolphi-Weg in Allermöhe caused significant disruption. The ICE connection between Hamburg and Berlin had to be completely closed on Friday morning. Some trains will be cancelled, others will be diverted. The port railway is also said to be affected by the disruptions. State security takes over the investigation.
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