Cable theft paralyzes train traffic to and from Bochum

The police lettering is on an emergency vehicle. © Christoph Soeder/dpa/Symbolbild

An unpleasant start to the week for rail passengers in the Ruhr area: For the second time within a week, Bochum's main train station is paralyzed. And again, it seems to be about cable theft.

Bochum - Bochum's main train station has not been able to be approached since early Monday morning. The reason for this was probably a cable theft, said a spokesman for the railway. There are multiple cancellations and delays. Both long-distance and regional transport are affected. "There's nothing you can do." As a consequence, trains would be diverted as much as possible. Between Essen and Dortmund, a replacement bus service had been set up. It is not yet possible to predict how long the disruption will last.

Only last Tuesday, a manipulation of a railway signal box in Bochum had triggered massive obstructions in regional and long-distance traffic. Bochum's main railway station could not be approached, and several hundred train connections were cancelled. According to the Federal Police, perpetrators had apparently wanted to steal copper cables near the Ehrenfeld S-Bahn station and also cut fiber optic cables. Dpa