Police investigate sabotage after arson near railway
The fire at a railway bridge in Rotterdam-Delfshaven was found to have been deliberately started, but the motive is unknown.
Follow-up to: Arson halts rail services between Rotterdam and Delft Saturday, 10 October 2026, 08:45
Police are investigating whether the arson at a railway bridge in Rotterdam-Delfshaven was part of sabotage or another form of deliberate damage. No arrests have yet been made, and nothing is known about a possible motive.
Police are looking at sabotage, among other possibilities, as an explanation for the fire. That does not mean that conclusion has already been reached: ProRail does describe it as arson and deliberate, but the reason for and purpose of the action remain unknown.
It was already known that a disruption occurred at a railway bridge in Delfshaven at around 2.30am on Saturday night. A contractor found smouldering cables and discovered that an access door to a technical room had been cut open. A fire had been started inside the room.
The cables are needed to supply power to the overhead wires and for the train safety system. The fire has since been extinguished, but ProRail says the damage cannot immediately be fully assessed. Cables and installations may also have been damaged below the surface.
Because of the police investigation and repair work, no trains will run between Rotterdam Centraal and Delft Campus on Saturday. The connection via Schiedam and the train route between The Hague and Rotterdam via Delft are also affected. NS is deploying a limited number of replacement buses, while passengers are being asked to check the journey planner.
Police must first secure evidence and investigate how the technical room was entered and where exactly the fire began. Only then can ProRail determine the extent of the damage and draw up a repair plan. A disruption lasting longer than Saturday therefore cannot be ruled out.
For now, the only thing established is that the fire was deliberately started. No evidence has been made public of a terrorist motive, foreign involvement or a link to earlier incidents. Such links can only be assessed once the investigation produces concrete indications of them.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The factual description is based on ProRail and regional reporting. Unconfirmed scenarios are explicitly presented as possibilities or unknowns.
- confirmed The arson took place at a railway bridge in Rotterdam-Delfshaven. — Reported by ProRail and Omroep Delft. source
- confirmed An access door had been cut open and there were smouldering cables. — Description by ProRail. source
- confirmed Police are investigating, among other possibilities, whether sabotage was involved. — Reported by Omroep Delft based on police information. source
- confirmed No arrests have yet been made. — Reported by Omroep Delft. source
Editor's note
Intentionality and the disruption to rail services have been confirmed. Police are investigating sabotage as a possibility; the motive, perpetrators and any links to other incidents are unknown.Sources
The story so far
- Saturday, 10 October 2026, 08:45 Arson halts rail services between Rotterdam and Delft
- Saturday, 10 October 2026, 12:45 Police investigate sabotage after arson near railway (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „rotterdam delft”
- NU.nl — „rotterdam delft”
- De Telegraaf — „rotterdam delft”