Cancellations and delays are occurring today and are expected to continue tomorrow on the rail link Hamburg – Berlin, due to extensive damage from an arson attack. The Police speak of politically motivated action.

According to German Railways (DB), around two-thirds of ICE services between Hamburg and Berlin are affected, with delays of 30-60′ as trains are diverted to alternative lines and many services are cancelled. The damage was caused by a fire in cable shafts, with the Hamburg Police spokesman saying that last night there were fires in various places, destroying DB cables. The representative of DB, for his part, confirmed the information and spoke of arson with a political motive and aimed mainly at freight transport. The investigation has been undertaken by the Anti-Crime Service.

At the same time, a letter is published on the “Indymedia” website, in which it is stated: “On the evening of September 7, we sabotaged arteries of the capitalist infrastructure in Hamburg. A few liters of petrol in the cable shafts on the rails will cause long-term failures or restrictions on the transport of raw materials, for example during neo-colonial exploitation and land-destroying mining.” The letter is already part of the investigations, said the Police spokesman.

“Such attacks are a form terrorism. We can only say that we are lucky that there was no injury. Such attacks not only made it difficult for people to travel, but also made it difficult to secure the supply of some basic goods. The social consensus must be that we outlaw all violence and extremism,” said Transport Minister Volker Vissing.