The railway company Trenitalia informed about the incident near Verona (symbolic image).Image: imago-images.de
Deliberate damage to the Brenner railway line caused major train delays on Saturday. The attack took place shortly before a road blockade at the Brenner Pass in Austria.
May 30, 2026, 1:20 p.mMay 30, 2026, 1:35 p.m
During the ongoing total closure on the Brenner Pass, there were significant disruptions to rail traffic on the border between Italy and Austria on Saturday.
According to the Italian railway company Trenitalia, the railway infrastructure in the province of Verona was damaged by unknown perpetrators.
This massively affected train connections on the north-south axis through the Alps. A fire broke out near the Domegliara train station, north of Verona, early on Saturday. According to the railway company, however, this was a suspected intentional intervention in which a technical system on the railway line caught fire and was damaged.
The disruptions in public transport coincide with a demonstration on the Brenner Pass, which at the same time led to restrictions on road traffic between Italy and Austria. The authorities had previously called on travelers to avoid driving if possible and to use public transport.
Significant public transport delays
The impact on rail traffic along the transalpine connection was significant, Trenitalia reported. Investigations into the background to the incident and the identity of the alleged perpetrators are ongoing.
High-speed trains, intercity and regional trains sometimes suffered significant delays. According to Trenitalia, travel time extensions of up to almost two hours were possible. Regional trains could also run for shorter periods or be canceled completely. Replacement buses were used for individual connections.
Sabotages on the Italian railway network are not uncommon. Already on February 7th, the day after the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games, sabotage operations were carried out on the network in the Bologna area, which led to significant problems throughout the northern Italian railway network. Anarchist groups had committed themselves to this.
Brenner road blockade
Due to a demonstration against traffic congestion at the Brenner Pass, the important Alpine crossing and the Brenner Motorway (A 13) in Austria will not be accessible to cars and motorcycles from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Local alternative routes are also closed. On the Italian side of the border pass, the closure applies from 10:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. During this time, journeys in the affected region are only permitted for destination and source traffic.
Authorities have called for people to avoid Tyrol on the day of the closure. The ÖAMTC therefore expects heavier travel traffic on the Tauernautobahn (A 10) and the Pyhrnautobahn (A 9) over the course of the day.
According to motorway operator Asfinag, almost eleven million cars and around 2.5 million trucks used the toll motorway in 2025. This makes the route the busiest north-south connection in the Alps.
(sda/apa)