A second suspected arson attack was carried out on a key railway line in Dusseldorf, German police said on Friday, a day after a fire in a cable duct caused widespread disruption on the same line, reported dpa.
The incendiary device used was of the same type as the one discovered following Thursday's blaze, police told dpa, adding that damage has once again been caused to the line.
Thursday's incident shut down a major railway line between the western cities of Dusseldorf and Duisburg. The blaze broke out in a cable duct that is part of the signalling system. According to investigators, the fire was started deliberately.
Hours later, a letter claiming responsibility for the act was published on the left-wing platform Indymedia. In it, an "Angry Birds Commando" claimed responsibility for the offence.
"Many things would work infinitely better without the industrial system," the letter reads, adding that this is the reason why the group "caused a disturbance."
Dusseldorf police confirmed that the authorities had also received the letter, the authenticity of which was yet to be confirmed.
Repair work is expected to continue all day on Friday, a spokesman for the rail operator in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia told dpa. Originally, the rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, had indicated that the traffic disruptions could be cleared by 3 pm (1300 GMT).
The Duisburg-Dusseldorf route, which is frequented by more than 620 trains daily – not counting freight trains – is one of the busiest rail connections in Germany.
Massive disruption to rail traffic
The first fire, which investigators believe was deliberately set, brought the route to a standstill on Thursday, causing significant disruption to long-distance traffic as well.
A dpa reporter learned at the scene on Thursday that unknown individuals had placed an ignition device in a cable tunnel. A train driver saw smoke billowing from the duct and raised the alarm.
The second fire damage was discovered during an inspection of the route on Friday, about 2 kilometres away.
"We assume that both attacks were carried out simultaneously," said a police spokesman.
There is no information about further acts in recent weeks. The letter claiming responsibility states that several attacks have been carried out in the greater Dusseldorf area.
The state security force is investigating.
What alternative options are there?
Deutsche Bahn has set up a shuttle bus service and is diverting long-distance traffic via Dortmund and Wuppertal. Additionally, construction work on a parallel freight route in the Duisburg district of Wedau was temporarily halted to handle part of the traffic via this route.
Nevertheless, many travellers were stranded at the main stations in Duisburg and Dusseldorf. There were numerous train cancellations and delays.
The cables belong to a railway control centre in Duisburg, but the fires broke out in the Dusseldorf city area, said a Deutsche Bahn spokesman.
Numerous lines affected
The damaged cables caused disruptions in local and long-distance traffic. The InterCity Express (ICE) lines to Berlin and Frankfurt, as well as connections to northern Germany, southern Germany and the Netherlands, are affected, Deutsche Bahn reported.
In local transport, the S1 commuter line and several regional lines are affected, the website zuginfo.nrw reported. The entire area around the Grossenbaum district in the south of Duisburg is impassable.
Several regional trains are being rerouted. Others start and end prematurely, with stops between Dusseldorf and Duisburg being omitted. This also affects travel to Dusseldorf Airport, which is located between the two main stations.
(By Frank Christiansen, Christoph Reichwein and Bettina Grönewald)
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
