A significant disruption to Dutch railway services occurred Tuesday morning, with the infrastructure company Prorail investigating the cause as potential sabotage. The incident affected train operations at 24 locations across the Netherlands, primarily impacting central and eastern regions but also touching services in the busy western areas.
Prorail spokesperson Joke van der Cruysen stated that materials were found deliberately placed on the tracks at multiple sites. "We suspect sabotage," she said, confirming that the police have launched an investigation into the cause and motives. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident.
Train services operated by the national railway company NS reported heavy disruptions around the central cities of Zwolle, Deventer, and Amersfoort during the morning rush hour. Passengers were advised of uncertainty regarding the duration of the service interruptions.
Prorail crews are working to clear the tracks while carefully handling the discovered materials to preserve potential evidence. Van der Cruysen noted that workers are wearing gloves to avoid compromising fingerprint analysis by the police.
The disruptions occurred on the same day the Dutch government was scheduled to present its annual budget, an event that typically draws many people to the capital, The Hague. The timing of the outage has not been linked to the government's budget presentation by officials.