Prorail suspects sabotage as Dutch rail outage hits rush hour
A major outage disrupted parts of the Dutch railway system early Tuesday, and the company that maintains the nation’s rail infrastructure said it was treating the cause as possible sabotage. Prorail spokesperson Joke van der Cruysen said material was deliberately placed on the tracks at 24 locations, affecting thousands of passengers mainly in the central and eastern Netherlands.
“It appears that this material was deliberately placed on the tracks. We suspect sabotage,” van der Cruysen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
She said Prorail was working to clear all rails and handling material taken off the rails carefully so as not to compromise potential evidence.
“We wear gloves so that the police can eventually check for fingerprints and the like,” she said. “And, of course, we try to get train traffic up and running again as soon as possible.”
Police spokeswoman Marloes Wesselink confirmed that an investigation was underway but declined to give further details. She said she was not aware of any claim of responsibility.
National railway company NS said train services around the central cities of Zwolle, Deventer and Amersfoort were hit hard around the morning rush hour.
“It is not yet clear how long it will take for train services to return to normal,” NS said in a message to travelers.
The disruption happened on the day the Dutch government is presenting its annual budget to parliament, an event that draws thousands of people to The Hague to watch the royal family ride through the city in horse-drawn carriages.
