- Cable fires: Berlin rail restrictions until Tuesday evening
Following the cable fire at Deutsche Bahn in Berlin, there will be continued disruptions in long-distance traffic throughout Tuesday. "Repair work is expected to last until Tuesday night. From Wednesday morning, DB plans to fully resume regular train operations for both passenger and freight traffic," the company announced. The S-Bahn on the Berlin ring is already running again at ten-minute intervals. Single-track operation is in place on the affected section between Westend and Beusselstraße stations.
The fire in a cable shaft occurred early Friday morning. The state police's counter-terrorism unit is investigating an alleged claim of responsibility posted on a left-wing internet platform.
According to Deutsche Bahn, hundreds of thousands of passengers in the Berlin region have been affected by the suspected arson attack. "The delays in long-distance and freight traffic are also being felt by passengers and businesses across much of Germany," the state-owned company said.
"Numerous switches and signals have been affected. The approximately 30 damaged cables, which branch out into a further 1,000 strands, are being replaced and rewired in sections," the company said. Extensive testing and safety measurements must be carried out before train operations can resume.
Just a few days before the fire in Berlin, there was also a cable fire in Bremen. Investigations are ongoing in this case as well.
Deutsche Bahn is currently replacing and rewiring the damaged cables in the affected section, which include around 30 cables branching out into 1,000 strands within the DB's DB. The company is also inspecting and carrying out extensive safety measurements before resuming train operations for both passenger and freight traffic in their DB.
