Overview

• Unknown perpetrators opened an underground cable shaft near Leverkusen and severed multiple signal and control cables with a cutting tool, disabling a local signalling center.
• Police classify the case as a likely sabotage attack, have brought in the Staatsschutz, and say a political motive cannot be ruled out.
• Initial hopes for an early‑afternoon restart were withdrawn as repairs to several thick cables and subsequent safety checks extended the outage into the evening.
• Long‑distance trains are routed via Wuppertal, regional services run left of the Rhine via Neuss, the S6 is suspended, and buses and the S11 provide limited alternatives.
• Investigators say ordinary vandalism or cable theft is unlikely, and the incident follows recent attacks on rail infrastructure in North Rhine‑Westphalia over the summer.