From BBC News · · 1m 30s
Sabotage suspected on Dutch rail network
Pipes and cables were dropped on tracks across the Netherlands, halting trains on the day the government reads out its budget.
In brief
Pipes and cables were dropped on tracks across the Netherlands, halting trains on the day the government reads out its budget. Objects placed on tracks at dozens of sites shut down large parts of Dutch rail, and nobody yet knows who did it or why. Originally reported by BBC News.
Dutch trains ground to a halt
Major rail disruption hit the centre and north of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, after suspected sabotage to the tracks. Infrastructure operator ProRail reported 30 separate disruptions.
Pipes and cables on the tracks
Objects were placed on rails at multiple locations. Footage from broadcaster NOS showed police carrying away metal pipes around 1.5 metres long from tracks at Veenendaal.
“Sabotage appears to be involved”
No suspects, no motive
Police opened a criminal investigation, joined by the national public prosecutor and the intelligence agency AIVD. So far nobody has been identified and no motive is known.
“Objects were found on railway tracks at several locations across the country”
Repairs kept getting undone
ProRail crews cleared items only to get fresh fault reports at the same spots. One train at Steenwijk struck an object, with no injuries. Disruption was too wide for replacement buses.
“We removed items that had been found on the tracks, but later received another report of a fault at the same location”
It happened on budget day
Tuesday was Prinsjesdag, when the Dutch government presents its budget. Farmers Defence Force protesters burned hay bales on roads that afternoon over plans to cut nitrogen emissions.
A wider pattern in Europe
The FDF denied responsibility but would not rule out individual farmers, and authorities have drawn no link. In France, prosecutors are examining whether a Normandy derailment was also sabotage.
Here's the gist
Objects placed on tracks at dozens of sites shut down large parts of Dutch rail, and nobody yet knows who did it or why.
