Train traffic widely disrupted in Netherlands over suspected sabotage

Train traffic was disrupted across large parts of the Netherlands early Tuesday due to a malfunction suspected to have resulted from an act of sabotage, according to broadcaster NOS.

Railway infrastructure manager ProRail reportedly said the major train disruption is suspected to have been caused by sabotage, describing the incident as a unique situation.

"Materials that were deliberately placed there have been found at multiple locations on the track," a spokesperson said, adding: "It appears to be a case of sabotage."

The spokesperson also noted that pipes had been attached to the tracks without giving further details.

There were reportedly malfunctions in the safety system at at least 20 different locations, while ProRail stressed that the outage had "a nationwide impact."

"If train traffic is not possible in so many places, that also affects other places," the spokesperson explained.

Road traffic is also expected to be affected by the rail disruption.

"We know which track sections are affected, but not the exact location. We therefore have to walk the entire route to locate and fix it," ProRail added.

The spokesperson reportedly had no answer to the question of who might be behind the act of sabotage, while ProRail focused on resolving the disruption.