A major technical failure in Germany's railway communications system brought trains to a standstill across the country late on Tuesday. Deutsche Bahn services were held at stations, leaving passengers waiting nationwide. Many travellers formed queues at station information desks, hoping for updates. The operator traced the disruption to the GSM-R digital network, which handles internal railway communication.
According to the company, the fault affected the entire network, which is why a safety halt became necessary. In a statement issued at midnight, Deutsche Bahn said the cause had been identified, though it did not spell out what that cause was. The company added that its technicians were working intensively to fix the problem.
What exactly is GSM-R
Deutsche Bahn explained that GSM-R carries both the voice and the data that rail operations depend on. During a journey, this is the system that keeps train drivers connected to control centres. GSM-R stands for Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway. According to the European Union Agency for Railways, the standard has been in use across Europe since 2000.
Help for stranded passengers
To assist travellers stuck at stations, Deutsche Bahn said it would hand out taxi and hotel vouchers. The company also said it would try to open trains standing at stations so passengers had somewhere to sit. It apologised for the disruption the stoppage had caused.
About two hours after the outage was first flagged, trains began running again on parts of the network. The Berlin commuter network said its trains were back in service. Even so, passengers were warned that the trouble was not fully over. Delays and cancellations were still expected once services resumed.
Restart in western Germany too
DB Regio Mitte, which operates regional services in western and southwestern Germany, also reported that trains were moving again. The company said passengers should still expect delays and cancellations. It warned that the disruption could drag on until at least 6 am on Wednesday. Information boards and announcements kept passengers updated about the changes.
A rail system already under strain
Over the past few years, complaints about late trains and disrupted journeys have grown in Germany. State-owned Deutsche Bahn has launched major repair work on its key routes. The work has been called thorough, but it has also been disruptive for travellers. Deutsche Bahn says the goal is to lift performance after years of underinvestment.
Germany's rail network has rarely seen near-total shutdowns. On the few past occasions it did, storms were usually to blame. This time the trigger was technical and tied directly to the GSM-R system. Even after trains restarted in some areas, operators kept warning of delays and cancellations.
