Coordinated sabotage halted the Dutch railway network on Prinsjesdag
On Prinsjesdag 2026, coordinated sabotage disabled Dutch rail signals at 30-plus sites with pipes and cables on the tracks, halting trains and triggering a criminal probe with no suspects yet named.
On September 15, 2026 — Prinsjesdag, the Dutch state opening of parliament — the national railway network was brought to a standstill by what network operators described as an act of coordinated sabotage that disrupted ProRail’s security systems in more than 30 places, with workers finding the first sections of pipe at 5:30am, a train colliding with a section at Steenwijk with no injuries, and steel pipes up to 2 metres long found in at least five locations in Gelderland that triggered signals to turn red, while the AIVD works with police to identify the source.
ProRail said pipes and cables were laid on tracks at multiple locations in the centre and north in more than 35 incidents that appeared intentional, caused widespread cancellations and delays with routes to Schiphol, Eindhoven and Utrecht affected, and produced new disruptions even after the objects were removed.
In the central Netherlands specifically, materials deliberately placed on tracks were found at 13 locations, causing track-circuit failures that halted services around Zwolle, Deventer and Amersfoort during the Tuesday morning rush hour, and a ProRail spokesperson told de Volkskrant pipes had been attached to the line in several places with one train colliding with a pipe but no accident or injuries.
No suspects or motives have been identified. The BBC also reported that police launched a criminal investigation with the public prosecutor and intelligence agency AIVD, that Prime Minister Rob Jetten called the incidents “disruptive and life-threatening”, and that although the Farmers Defence Force held nitrogen-policy protests with hay bales burned on the same day, authorities established no link to the rail sabotage.
The disruption coincided with Prinsjesdag, the state opening of parliament. Media speculated the coordinated placements were timed to the ceremony, though with no suspects identified the question of whether the sabotage targeted the event or simply exploited a high-profile day remains open.