Germany’s
rail network was cut in two places on Saturday morning in what authorities say
could be an act of ‘sabotage’, Reuters reported. The West European nation has
been wary of attacks on critical infrastructure for months since trouble
started brewing over the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Rail traffic in north
Germany ground to a halt for nearly three hours.

The German
Interior Minister, Nancy Faesar, said federal police are investigating the
incident adding that the motive was unclear. The North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (NATO) had issued an alert months ago calling for increased vigilance
on critical infra amid the threat from Russia which is imbued in a war with
Ukraine which is not going well for Putin recently.

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German
Transport Minister Volker Wissing said, “It is clear that this was a targeted
and malicious action.” A security source told Reuters that there could be a
host of reasons why this happened, including cable theft to a targeted attack.

Deutsch
Bahn, Germany’s state-run railway operator, issued a statement saying: “Due to
sabotage on cables that are indispensable for rail traffic, Deutsch Bahn had to
stop rail traffic in the north this morning for nearly three hours.” Initially,
the railway operator had blamed technical faults with radio communication for
the delay. While traffic was restored, more trains could be cancelled, the
statement read.

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The German
rail network cut took place just a day ahead of a state election in Lower
Saxony where Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party is expected to retain power. The
Greens, an ally of Germany’s ruling party, is slated to nearly double its vote
share. Greens party leader Omid Nouripour said anyone who attacked the country’s
critical infrastructure would receive a “decisive response”.

“We will
not be intimidated,” he said.

As trains
got delayed and cancelled, long queues started forming at railway stations,
including in Berlin and Hanover.