Trains halted across Germany because of communication system problem
A nationwide failure of the GSM-R digital communication system forced Deutsche Bahn to stop all trains on Tuesday evening. Passengers remained stranded for nearly 2.5 hours before services gradually resumed. The operator has since resolved the technical issue.
What changed
New reports indicate that the radio failure has sparked political concerns regarding the use of Huawei technology in critical infrastructure.
Live updates
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GSM-R Failure Halts German Trains; Concerns Over Chinese Tech Rise
confidence 90%A nationwide failure of the GSM-R digital communication system forced Deutsche Bahn to stop all trains on Tuesday evening. Passengers remained stranded for nearly 2.5 hours before services gradually resumed. The operator has since resolved the technical issue.
What's confirmed:
- A problem with the GSM-R digital communication system forced Deutsche Bahn to halt all trains across Germany late Tuesday.
- Passengers were stranded at stations for nearly 2.5 hours before services began resuming.
- Deutsche Bahn resolved the communication system issue and trains are running again.
Still unconfirmed:
- The GSM-R failure has increased concerns among politicians regarding the use of Huawei technology in the German rail network.
- A nationwide strike of Deutsche Bahn train drivers began on January 24.
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German Rail Service Resumes After Nationwide Communications Outage
confidence 95%A failure in the GSM-R digital communication system forced Deutsche Bahn to halt all trains across Germany on Tuesday evening. Passengers were stranded at stations for nearly 2.5 hours before service began resuming step by step. The operator has since resolved the issue and trains are running again.
What's confirmed:
- Deutsche Bahn halted all trains across Germany on Tuesday evening due to a communication system problem.
- The outage affected the GSM-R digital communication system used for internal railway communication.
- Service began resuming step by step shortly before 1 a.m., nearly 2.5 hours after the outage was first reported.
- The rail network has recovered from the nationwide breakdown.
Still unconfirmed:
- The outage was caused by scheduled work.
- An IT maintenance snag caused the network to go down.