Potential link to a left-wing extremist incident
In a series of targeted attacks, numerous train cancellations and delays left thousands of passengers stranded at the main stations in Duisburg and Düsseldorf. Local lines, including travel to Düsseldorf Airport, were also significantly impacted.
The attacks, which occurred on Thursday, resulted in the destruction of cables for controlling switches and signals near Düsseldorf on the Duisburg-Düsseldorf railway line. Two fire sites were reported, both of which had the same design, and one of which destroyed five thick cables, each 20 meters long.
The "Kommando Angry Birds" group, a known left-wing extremist campaign, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The police are investigating the incident as an act of sabotage and are checking the authenticity of a claim of responsibility published on the left-wing platform "Indymedia."
The Duisburg-Düsseldorf line, which handles over 620 passenger trains daily, has been closed since Thursday. The police investigation at the second attack site continued until midday, after which repair work began. German Railway expects repairs to be completed by midnight, followed by test runs, with regular service expected to resume in time for morning operations on Saturday.
To compensate for the disrupted service, bus shuttle services and the rerouting of long-distance traffic via Dortmund and Wuppertal were implemented. Construction work on a parallel freight line in Duisburg-Wedau was temporarily suspended to handle some of the traffic.
This is not the first time left-wing extremist groups have targeted German railways. In 2018, signal cables along the same route between Düsseldorf and Duisburg were destroyed in a similar protest against deportations from Düsseldorf Airport.
In 2017, individuals from the left-wing extremist scene set fire to railway installations in several federal states ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg. Such attacks have been recurring for decades.
Recent attacks, including the ones in late July and early August 2025, have caused extensive disruption to passenger and freight traffic. Left-wing extremists, specifically the anarchist group "Kommando Angry Birds," claimed responsibility for these incidents, stating opposition to industrial systems.
The NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer has vowed a thorough investigation into the attacks and expressed outrage over the "massive damage" caused. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul suspects the attack was carried out by left-wing extremists.
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- The attacks on the Duisburg-Düsseldorf railway line, which left passengers stranded for numerous hours, are being investigated as acts of sabotage and have been claimed by the left-wing extremist group "Kommando Angry Birds."
- The recent series of attacks on German railways by left-wing extremist groups, including the one that disrupted services on General-news platforms and Politics, are causing extensive disruption in the transportation sector and raising concerns about the security of critical infrastructure.
