Investigations are underway near Bologna Centrale train station into the severed cables that caused suspensions and delays at the Bologna hub . In addition to the Railway Police, the Italian Special Operations Unit (DIGOS) is also on site. The investigation is assessing the possibility of malicious intent: anarchist-antagonistic sabotage is, according to reports, among the possibilities being examined by investigators.
Traffic is severely impacted: high-speed, intercity, and regional trains may currently experience increased travel times of up to 90 minutes. Regional trains may experience route restrictions or cancellations.
Three incidents of damage occurred on Italian railway lines coinciding with the start of the Milan-Cortina race, and investigators conducting the investigations do not rule out the possibility of an anarchic demonstration, similar to what happened in France in 2024 for the Paris Olympics. The affected lines are the Bologna-Padua regular line, where a rudimentary explosive device was found and removed from a switch; the high-speed line on the same stretch, where electrical cables were severed in a manhole; and the Bologna-Ancona line in Pesaro, where an electrical substation caught fire.
"I'm sorry that while I'm here in Bormio and everything is fine, I read news from Bologna where there's been an attack on the railway line that's slowing everything down," commented Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, in Bormio for the first competitions of the Winter Olympics. "An act of delinquency. If it were confirmed that the interruption of the high-speed train was the result of a premeditated attack, on the first day of the Olympics, let's just say someone is wishing Italy harm."
(Unioneonline)
