Trains across Germany halted due to problem with communication system

Germany's railway system was brought to a halt, leaving some passengers stranded across the country due to an IT issue.

The main national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, apologised and said all trains were held at stations because of a nationwide problem with a digital communication system.

The system is used for internal communication on the railway network.

Around 90 minutes after first announcing it was experiencing issues, Deutsche Bahn said technicians were "working intensively on a solution".

It also said the cause of the issue had been identified, but did not explain what the issue was.

It is unclear how long it will take to fix the issue or how many trains or passengers have been affected.

The system is understood to be the main ‌communication tool between train drivers and traffic control centres.

Deutsche Bahn said ​it would issue taxi ​and hotel vouchers to passengers ⁠and offer replacement transport where possible.

About two hours after the outage was reported, trains on at least part of the network were moving again.

(c) Sky News 2026: Trains across Germany halted due to problem with communication system