Trains halted across Germany because of communication system problem

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BERLIN (AP) — A problem with a communications system forced Germany’s railway system to halt all trains late Tuesday, leaving passengers stranded across the country.

Would-be travelers stood in long lines at some station information desks as they tried to figure out how to get to their destinations.

The main national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said all trains were being held at stations because of a nationwide problem with the GSM-R digital communication system, which is used for internal communication on the railway network.

Deutsche Bahn said in a statement at midnight, 1 1/2 hours after it first announced the problem, that the cause had been identified, but didn't specify what it was. It said that technicians “are working intensively on a solution.”

The company said it would give taxi and hotel vouchers to passengers and, where possible, make available trains at stations for travelers to sit in. It apologized for the situation.

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

The Berlin commuter network said trains were running, but delays and cancellations should still be expected. DB Regio Mitte, which runs regional trains in parts of western and southwestern Germany, said it had also resumed service but delays and cancellations should still be expected until at least 6 a.m. Wednesday.

GSM-R, short for Global System for Mobile Communications–Railway, offers voice and data services needed to operate railways, including communication between train drivers and control centers.

According to the European Union Agency for Railways, it has been introduced across Europe since 2000 as a common standard for railway operations.

In recent years, complaints about train delays and disruption in Germany have become increasingly frequent.

Government-owned Deutsche Bahn has started conducting thorough but disruptive overhauls of major routes after years of underinvestment in a bid to improve its performance.

The German railway system has on rare occasions in the past halted all or most trains, but because of storms rather than for technical reasons.