Unknown Individuals Damaged Railroad Track Section in Germany; It Was Scheduled to Be Used by US Army Train

A freight train derailed near the German city of Essen, replacing a train carrying US Army weapons and military equipment.

This was reported by the Bild.

According to police, the accident occurred on January 12 at around 10:30 p.m. local time. During the incident, one axle of the locomotive derailed, but there were no casualties.

However, early in the investigation, it was discovered that a US military freight train carrying ammunition and equipment was supposed to pass through the same section of track a few hours before the accident.

According to the schedule, it was supposed to pass at approximately 6:40 p.m.

During an inspection of the accident site, investigators found several metal staples attached directly to the rails. The last train passed this section without incident at around 5:30 p.m.

Less than an hour and a half later, an American military train was scheduled to pass through.

Due to traffic delays, it was eventually rerouted to an alternative branch line. Instead, a regular freight train with tank cars passed through the sabotaged section and crashed.

Investigators are currently checking whether the metal staples could have been left behind after recent repair or construction work, or whether they were installed deliberately.

The North Rhine-Westphalia police do not rule out the possibility of deliberate sabotage.

This is far from the first recorded case of sabotage on European railway infrastructure.

In November, saboteurs blew up a railway track between Warsaw and Demblin in Poland, one of the country’s key transport arteries.

Polish special services said that the perpetrators of the sabotage came from Belarus and were acting on behalf of Russian special services.