Overview

• Overnight repair crews restored signal and control cables on both the Düsseldorf–Duisburg passenger corridor and the Saxony-Anhalt coal freight route, allowing service to resume early Saturday morning.
• Investigators have classified all three cable fires discovered since Thursday as intentional sabotage, with two sites on the critical Düsseldorf–Duisburg axis and a third near Webau in Hohenmölsen.
• The Staatsschutz has taken over the probe and is vetting a claim of responsibility by an affinity group calling itself “Kommando Angry Birds.”
• NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul has pointed to possible left-wing extremist motives and vowed rigorous prosecution, a stance backed by Transport Minister Oliver Krischer.
• The Düsseldorf–Duisburg line carries more than 620 passenger trains daily, underscoring security concerns during Deutsche Bahn’s ongoing infrastructure modernization.