Major disruption on the railway in the Netherlands: operator claims sabotage
Train traffic in the central, northern and eastern parts of the Netherlands was seriously disrupted on the morning of September 15 by a large-scale safety system failure. The state-owned railway infrastructure operator ProRail reported that foreign objects, including pipes, were deliberately placed on the tracks in several locations. The company believes it was sabotage.
Problems began around 05:30 local time. Initially railway workers recorded simultaneous control system malfunctions on a number of sections in the central part of the country.
ProRail later said that employees found materials on the tracks which, according to preliminary assessments, were placed there intentionally.
"On several track sections, materials were found that had been deliberately placed there. This is causing section malfunctions. It appears to be sabotage", the company said.
Dutch broadcaster NOS, citing a ProRail spokesperson, specifies that pipes were attached to the tracks. The railway operator is not yet providing further details.
By morning, safety system malfunctions had been recorded in at least 20 locations. Because of them, the system could incorrectly identify a track section as occupied by a train.
In such cases, signals automatically switch to red, as dispatchers cannot reliably determine whether a train is on the track. For safety reasons, traffic on such sections has to be stopped or severely limited.
The most affected connections were between Utrecht and northern and eastern regions of the country. In particular, trains were cancelled or major problems occurred on routes through Amersfoort, Zwolle, Arnhem, Deventer, Leeuwarden and Almelo.
According to Dutch media, problems occurred simultaneously on more than 20 railway routes, although some of the individual malfunctions may not have been directly related to the main incident.
The disruption also impacted road traffic. The safety system can automatically close railway crossing barriers when it receives a signal that a train is supposedly approaching. As a result, some crossings remained closed even in the absence of trains.
ProRail has sent employees to search for and remove foreign objects. The challenge is that the operator knows the sections where the system detects a malfunction, but not always the exact location of the interference. Therefore, employees have to inspect the tracks along the relevant routes.
The company stated that it is trying to restore traffic as quickly as possible while not destroying potential evidence. ProRail is in contact with national emergency services and other relevant authorities.
It is currently unknown who could have organized the sabotage and what their motive was. ProRail stressed that identifying those responsible is the responsibility of the police.
The incident occurred on the day of Prinsjesdag - the annual presentation of the Dutch government's state budget in The Hague. It has not yet been established whether the events are connected.
NOS notes that the scale of the event is unusual for the Dutch railway. ProRail called the situation unique.
This is not the first case of intentional interference with the Netherlands' railway infrastructure during a major political event. In June 2025, on the day of the NATO summit in The Hague, rail traffic between Schiphol and Amsterdam was disrupted as a result of arson of cables. Those responsible for that incident were not identified.
As of the morning of September 15, ProRail was gradually restoring traffic on sections that had been checked and made safe. Passengers were advised to check the current schedule before travelling.
