Left-wing extremist "Angry Birds" claim responsibility for railway line attack
A radical group has claimed responsibility for an arson attack on the rail link between Cologne and Düsseldorf. The line was blocked for several days.
Left-wing extremist "Angry Birds" claim responsibility for railway line attack
On Friday, 10 July, a railway embankment between Langenfeld and Leverkusen caught fire. Flames broke out at two locations simultaneously and destroyed several cables for signal control. Deutsche Bahn subsequently suspended train services on this central axis in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Shortly afterwards, the group "Angry Birds" published a statement on indymedia.org in which they claimed responsibility for the act. According to the statement, the activists placed combustible materials in a cable shaft north of Leverkusen. They acknowledged that the spread of the flames was more extensive than intended. Security authorities believe the statement to be authentic. The possibility of a technical fault as the cause is considered highly implausible.
The state security office in Cologne is now leading the investigation. It is examining whether wilful arson was involved. The same group had already claimed responsibility the previous year for similar attacks on another railway line in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The closure caused considerable disruption to rail traffic. Commuters and travellers had to switch to buses. Lines RE1, RE5 and S6 were particularly affected. Long-distance services to Dortmund, Münster and the Netherlands also suffered from diversions and waiting times of around half an hour.
Only late on Saturday could Deutsche Bahn reopen the line. Before that, technicians had to replace the damaged cables and test the safety systems. Despite the reopening, the company warned of further delays.
Source: WA.de
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