Traffic
Two perpetrators arrested after cable theft at Bochum main station
Cable thieves paralyzed train traffic in parts of the Ruhr area and northern North Rhine-Westphalia for hours. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
No trains could run for hours. Cables were stolen in North Rhine-Westphalia. This temporarily paralyzed train traffic. Now the perpetrators have been arrested.
In the momentous cable theft at Bochum main station, the police caught and arrested two perpetrators in the act. The two men, aged 53 and 50, made extensive statements during the interrogation, a federal police spokeswoman said on Friday. It is assumed that they were after the metal in the cables – there is no evidence of deliberate sabotage of railway operations. A third perpetrator is still being sought. Several media outlets had previously reported.
Due to the theft of cables, trains in the north of North Rhine-Westphalia were unable to run for hours on Friday night. During rush hour on Friday morning, the situation normalized somewhat. However, the railway expected that in Bochum main station will not be able to run trains until Friday afternoon. Long-distance trains were widely rerouted. There were also cancellations and diversions in regional transport and S-Bahn trains.
On Friday night, the men cut out around 25 meters of cable not far from Bochum main station. Because this resulted in an error message being reported to the railway, the federal police were quickly at the scene.
Railway information