Arson in Lehrte: Rail traffic between Hanover and Berlin paralyzed!

Arson in Lehrte: Rail traffic between Hanover and Berlin paralyzed!

A serious event caused unrest in Lehrte, a region near Hanover, on Friday, September 16, 2025: A fire at a signal box affected rail traffic. “The police are assuming serious intentional arson,” reports NDR. State security was called in because there were signs that the fire was intentional and not accidental.

The fire devil completely destroyed the control box and the cable system. “This doesn’t just happen,” says Deutsche Bahn, responding to the demand for clarification and speaking of “vandalism damage”. The police believe it is very likely that there is no technical defect, which is why the suspicion of a politically motivated act cannot be ruled out. Remembered in this context Daily Mirror of similar incidents nationwide that have been particularly noticeable in the last few weeks.

Impact on rail traffic

Thanks to the rapid repair work, train services between Hanover and Berlin can now operate largely as normal again, although some trains have to be cancelled. In the meantime, some IC trains between Hanover and Magdeburg have also reported delays of around 25 minutes. Deutsche Bahn is currently providing information online about the status of the disruptions and has taken everything into account to resolve the restrictions as quickly as possible.

However, the effects of the fire should not be underestimated. The regional lines RE30, RE10, RE70 and the S-Bahn line S4 are affected, among others NDR reported. Travelers can achieve the same thing through restrictions that last until Monday.

Accident in Hanover-Kleefeld

In addition to these disruptions, there was a separate incident in Hanover-Kleefeld that also caused a stir: a drunk driver crashed into a concrete bollard, causing damage to the overhead line on the ICE route. This resulted in a fully occupied ICE train with around 900 passengers having to be evacuated. Fortunately, there were no injuries among the passengers, but the wait caused several medical emergencies - a condition that passengers were reluctant to witness.

The investigation into the 19-year-old driver, who was apparently unable to drive his vehicle properly, is ongoing. He was held responsible for dangerous interference with rail traffic. <%a href="https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/brand-an-bahnwege-hannoverberlin-polizei-schliesst-anschlag-auf-stellwerk-nicht-aus-14322791.html" target="_blank">Tagesspiegel reported that the accident vehicle only had the drunken driver as a passenger, while the other two occupants were not found.

The population is concerned about the current incidents and the associated safety issues in rail transport. The state security agency will press ahead with the investigation in order to shed light on this profound problem. In light of the last few weeks and the increasing number of arson attacks on infrastructure, as shown by more than 400 investigations in Berlin, there is a worrying trend that cannot be ignored by the authorities. RBB24 clearly points to the biggest challenge – the need for safety for all travelers.