Status: 09.10.2022 09:19 am
Nothing worked on the rails in the north for hours after strangers destroyed important communication cables. Demands for more security for the infrastructure in Germany are therefore being heard from politicians.
After the act of sabotage against Deutsche Bahn, demands for better protection of the infrastructure increased. The SPD parliamentary group vice and transport politician Detlef Müller called for a concept from the railways, Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and the security authorities.
The critical infrastructure includes not only rails and trains, but also digital control and safety technology, said Müller to the editorial network Germany. The technology must be “installed in an access-safe manner” when new construction and the renovation of routes are made.
“Customize Concepts”
The parliamentary manager of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, called for waiting for the results of the police investigation. “Regardless of this case, we have to rethink the security architecture of Germany and the EU,” Frei told the editorial network Germany. “The new age of hybrid warfare requires an adjustment of our concepts.”
The Greens renewed their demand to use funds from the Bundeswehr special fund to protect critical infrastructure. So far, however, this has failed due to resistance from the Union, said the first parliamentary director of the Greens parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, also to the editorial network Germany. “We are ready to make improvements here,” said Mihalic and called for the funds to be provided from the budget.
Green leader Omid Nouripour had previously spoken out in favor of improving the protection of critical infrastructure.
Investigations handed over to the State Criminal Police Office
Targeted sabotage of the Deutsche Bahn cable network paralyzed train services in large parts of northern Germany for around three hours. Countless passengers were stranded at the major train stations such as Hanover, Hamburg and Berlin. Long queues formed at information desks.
According to Transport Minister Wissing, cables were “willfully and deliberately severed”. As a spokesman for the Federal Police reported, according to the dpa news agency, one crime scene was in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, another in North Rhine-Westphalia. Security circles said that so-called fiber optic cables were damaged at the Karower Kreuz in Berlin and in Herne in North Rhine-Westphalia. The background to the alleged perpetrators is so far unclear.
The investigations have now been handed over to the State Criminal Police Office in Berlin, as confirmed by spokesmen for the Federal Police and the Berlin situation center.