What's behind the spike in arson attacks on Germany's railway network?

A cable fire in the early hours of Friday morning on the Berlin Ringbahn route in Moabit disrupted train services through the area. 

The Berlin S-Bahn first announced disruptions around 4 am, due to "vandalism in the Jungfernheide area". 

On Friday morning, the S41 and S42 lines were not running between Westend and Beusselstraße. Long-distance and regional trains were also affected. Repairs are expected to continue through the weekend.

This follows a pair of arson attacks on a railway line between Hamburg and Bremen on Monday, and another on critical train infrastructure near Munich on Wednesday morning. 

A series of arson attacks on the railways

Last week France's high-speed rail network was hit by a series of arson attacks just hours before the opening of the Paris Olympics. The French train network was disrupted so severely that German routes around the border were also impacted.

A few days later, cable fires on a major rail route between Bremen and Hamburg stopped train traffic there for a day as investigations and then repairs were carried out.

According to Tagesschau, investigators found evidence that perpetrators intentionally set fire to cables in a cable shaft near Bremen's Bürgerpark.

State security investigators are examining if the crime may have been politically motivated.

Then, on Wednesday morning a construction train was set alight near Munich. The fire was reported just 35 minutes after the train cars had been left parked on a track in Oberhaching.

Are critical infrastructure attacks spiking?

In the case of the most recent incident near Munich, it's clear that the perpetrators are not amateurs. The target was a 500-metre-long work train, used to clean and relay track ballast. Investigators found eight points along the length of the train where arsonists had tried to start the fire.

This joins a long list of critical infrastructure attacks seen in and around Munich in recent years.

According to reporting by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the greater Munich area has been plagued by an increase in arson attacks since 2022. In total 30 cases and an estimated €20 million in damages have been recorded. 

Of these, 26 took place in the city and 60 percent had targeted critical infrastructure like railway lines, bridges, power lines, radio masts and geothermal power plants. 

The uptick of these particularly disruptive attacks is troubling for the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for countering terror and extremism, and has launched the so-called "Raute" investigation group to track down the perpetrators. But so far no breakthroughs have been reported.

Instead, there is only broad speculation as to the kinds of groups or people who would be motivated and capable to pull off attacks at this level. Investigators have warned against jumping to conclusions, but others have suggested possible right- or left-wing extremist motives.

Police officers secure evidence on the ringbahn following an arson incident. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Paul Zinken

Meanwhile, following the railway attacks in France last week, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned against the possibility of Russian sabotage.

“The extent of the risk of Russian sabotage in Germany and Europe depends on the developing situation around the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine,” began a statement released by the federal office.

It added that based on cases examined in 2023, “there is an increased risk of sabotage activities or corresponding preparatory actions in Germany”.

However, so far no clear evidence of Russian involvement with the recent arson attacks in Germany has been reported.

READ ALSO: 'Four-hour delays' - How travelling on German trains has become a nightmare for foreigners

Berlin’s Ringbahn seriously disrupted 

A spokesman for the federal police told the Tagesspiegel, that the cable fire in Berlin was "probably not a technical defect, but presumably arson".

Five metres of cable were reported to have burned, resulting in the failure of several signals and switches. 

Train traffic is expected to be affected through the weekend: "Repair work will continue over the weekend...until the beginning of next week," Deutsche Bahn said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

Federal police said they need to complete their investigations before train technicians can begin repairs.

S-Bahn services were also affected between Berlin-Hauptbahnhof and Spandau, with all activity at the Spandau station cancelled on Friday.

Long-distance trains were being diverted to Gesundbrunnen and the main station. 

Regional (RE) trains have also been affected, with the following route changes scheduled on Friday:

• RE4 trains will run between Ludwigsfelde and Berlin-Spandau. The stops Berlin-Lichterfelde Ost, Südkreuz, Potsdamer Platz, Jungfernheide will be cancelled, but additional stops will be made in Berlin Ostkreuz, Ostbahnhof and Zoologischer Garten.
• RB21 trains will run between Berlin-Jungfernheide and Berlin-Gesundbrunnen.
• RE6 trains are cancelled between Berlin-Charlottenburg and Hennigsdorf in both directions.
• RB14 trains will run between Nauen and Südkreuz in both directions.
• RB10 trains will be diverted in both directions with stops between Südkreuz and Berlin Jungfernheide cancelled in both directions. An additional stop will be made in Berlin-Charlottenburg. 

Berlin’s Ringbahn trains (S41 and S42) were still running in both directions except between Westend and Beusselstraße. Passengers affected can use replacement bus services.