Germany's rail network halts for several hours due to IT outage

On the evening of June 23, German rail company Deutsche Bahn was forced to halt train services across the country due to a nationwide IT outage.

This was reported by the BBC.

At 10:30 pm local time, the company said that a nationwide outage of the Global System for Mobile Communications for Railways (GSM-R) had caused all trains to be held up at stations, causing widespread disruption.

Later, Deutsche Bahn said the outage had been resolved - after trains had been completely at a standstill for more than two and a half hours.

"Our IT specialists have been working tirelessly to resolve the issue - and have succeeded. The issue was quickly resolved and train services are now gradually being restored. We thank all passengers for their patience," the statement said.

A subsequent statement said the cause of the outage, which affected internal communications, had been "currently identified" and that technicians were "working diligently to resolve the issue."

Passengers were advised to use alternative modes of transport as significant delays and cancellations were expected. At the time, Deutsche Bahn did not say how long the disruptions might last or how many trains and passengers were affected.

The GSM-R that caused the outage is a wireless communication system used between train drivers and control centres.

The company apologized for the situation, adding that it would provide affected passengers with taxi and hotel vouchers. It also said that alternative transport would be arranged where possible.

The national rail operator Deutsche Bahn provides both intercity and regional services. It also operates S-Bahn trains connecting suburbs with city centers, which were also suspended on Tuesday evening.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Schleswig-Holstein became the first federal state in Germany to enact a new form of burial - the so-called return to the earth.