Germany rail network halts after IT maintenance error
8 reported
Germany’s rail network came to a standstill late Tuesday after scheduled maintenance work on an internal communication system went wrong, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. The disruption was initially suspected to be a cyber-attack but was later attributed to a planned replacement of an aging component in the GSM-R digital radio system, without which trains cannot operate. Trains stopped as a precaution, leaving passengers stranded on tracks and in stations, with both passenger and freight services affected. A system reset was performed after two hours early Wednesday, but full recovery took much longer. Deutsche Bahn (DB) issued an apology, and CEO of DB InfraGO Philipp Nagl stated the company is analyzing the cause to prevent recurrence. The incident adds to years of mounting problems for the railway, including frequent delays and cancellations, with punctuality at 59% in February compared to 66% a year earlier. The rail network is undergoing a multi-billion-euro overhaul, but DB’s chief executive Evelyn Palla has said significant improvement will take several years.
What’s reported
The disruption was caused by a scheduled attempt to replace an aging component in the railway’s internal communication network.
Trains were brought to an abrupt halt as a precaution.
A system reset was carried out after two hours in the early hours of Wednesday.
Philipp Nagl, CEO of DB InfraGO, said the cause appears to be the planned replacement of a technical component in the GSM-R digital radio system.
Punctuality stood at 59% in February, compared with 66% a year ago.
The communications system is based on 1990s 2G technology; a 5G network is not scheduled until about 2035.
DB has a 20,750-mile (33,400km) rail network carrying about 50,000 trains a day.
Oliver Krischer, regional transport minister for North-Rhine-Westphalia, called the halt “a new low in what are already poor operating standards.”
Key figures
Philipp Nagl, CEO of DB InfraGO
Evelyn Palla, CEO of Deutsche Bahn
Oliver Krischer, regional transport minister for North-Rhine-Westphalia
Sources: The Guardian
