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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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The Netherlands faces major rail disruption as investigators examine suspected sabotage on the tracks across the country’s network.
The country’s operator ProRail said that materials were found at different locations that had been “deliberately placed there” and that “sabotage appears to be involved.” Local media reported that pipes had been placed on the tracks leading to multiple signal failures.
Dutch media reported that there are indications that farmer activists may have been behind the sabotage to coincide with the government's budget day.
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As of midday Tuesday, at least 20 disruptions had been recorded across the country with routes to the main international airport at Schiphol and to Utrecht also affected. Dutch police, the national public prosecutor's office and the Netherlands' intelligence agency AIVD are investigating the incidents and no cause has yet been revealed.
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Dutch public broadcaster NOS shared footage of police carrying what appeared to be 5-foot long metal pipes from railway tracks at Veenendaal in the central Netherlands. One train in the city of Steenwijk struck an object but there were no injuries, ProRail said.
The railway operator said that the disruption has had major consequences for train traffic in the central and northern Netherlands. Several level crossings were also not working, in turn affecting road traffic and passengers were warned to be braced for delays throughout the day.
By Tuesday afternoon, train service was gradually resuming but with some delays and cancellations.
"Our employees are working hard to clean up these materials and make the situation safe. Where possible, we will restart the train service as soon as possible," the ProRail statement said, according to a translation. Newsweek has contacted ProRail for comment.
Annet Bertram, the Netherlands' secretary of state for infrastructure and water management, said that the incidents which took place on Prinsjesdag, which is the annual day marking the start of the Dutch parliamentary year, were “particularly worrying,” adding that “it is now important that this is investigated very carefully.”
Later on Tuesday, Dutch news outlet NOS reported that there were indications that farmer activists were behind the sabotage which was linked to the government budget due to be revealed.
"Sources in agricultural circles confirm that in recent days far-reaching actions on Budget Day have been discussed in online groups," the outlet reported, according to a translation.
The Netherlands has faced other unexplained incidents affecting its railways. During last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, trains around the Schiphol airport were severely delayed after a fire. The inquiry is still ongoing.
Tuesday's incident follows reports that a derailment in Normandy, France, last Friday, could have been an act of sabotage. At least 44 people were injured, including one seriously, following the derailment of the train traveling between Rouen and Caen.
France's interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said there is an investigation and no culprit has been found.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an X post in August that Europe faces “an escalating campaign of threats” which were “seeking to divide our Union.”
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