Dutch railway operator ProRail suspects another act of sabotage after a pipe was found on the railway line between Apeldoorn and Deventer on Tuesday evening.
The pipe was discovered near Teuge.
Train services between Deventer and Apeldoorn were temporarily stopped from around 9:30 p.m. The problem was first reported as a signal failure.
Police and ProRail’s incident response team quickly went to the scene.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, a metal bar was also removed from the railway track between Holten and Rijssen.
Officials suspect someone may have deliberately placed or moved it, although it is possible the bar had been there for several hours before causing problems.
The latest incidents came after major disruption on Dutch railways on Tuesday morning.
Pipes and cables were found on railway tracks at more than 35 locations. The objects affected systems used to detect whether railway tracks were occupied.
ProRail CEO Mirjam van Velthuizen said there is very little camera footage from the affected areas.
“There is some camera footage, but unfortunately very little from the specific locations where the incidents occurred.”
The available footage has been handed over to police. It remains unclear who is behind the suspected sabotage or whether those responsible appear in the footage.
ProRail plans to increase security across the railway network with more cameras and surveillance. However, Van Velthuizen said monitoring the entire network is difficult.
State Secretary Annet Bertram also condemned the incidents, calling the sabotage “unacceptable”.
“Given the significant disruption experienced by travelers and transport operators, and the danger posed by these actions, I condemn them in the strongest terms.”
Bertram said “the effective functioning of the train safety systems” helped reduce the possible damage and risks.
She also thanked ProRail workers and contractors who removed the objects and helped train services resume.
