Angry Dutch farmers blamed for railway sabotage: What happened?

Railways in the Netherlands suffered massive disruption on Tuesday when pipes, cables and other materials were placed on dozens of tracks, halting trains and upending the commutes of hundreds of thousands of passengers.

While no one has been blamed for the suspected sabotage, the incident coincides with mass protests by farmers angered by government environmental policies, and took place amid reports in local media that farmers had discussed taking direct action against the railways.

The Tuesday, September 15 incident is being investigated by police.

So what happened, why are farmers under suspicion, and why would anyone target a railway?

Trains in the Netherlands came to a standstill on Tuesday morning, causing delays and cancellations for passengers across central and northern parts of the country.

It emerged that items on the tracks had caused trains to be halted.

“Materials were found in several places along tracks that were deliberately placed there. This is causing section failures. It seems to be sabotage,” ProRail, the country’s rail infrastructure operator, said in a statement.

ProRail’s interim CEO Mirjam van Velthuizen said the incident demonstrated how dependent the Netherlands is on its railways and called for greater investment in contingency planning.