Train traffic in Jutland was almost completely paralyzed, and technicians from three countries worked throughout the night to determine the cause of the disruption.
According to TV2, train traffic was halted on Sunday evening in large parts of Jutland, amid complete uncertainty about the true cause of the disruption that paralyzed rail traffic, according to the railway infrastructure management company Banedanmark.
A complete shutdown disrupts transportation in Yoland
TV2 reported that most train lines in Jutland were out of service and were not expected to resume before noon on Monday, with doubts remaining about whether service would be able to resume as scheduled. The report explained that the sudden disruption on Sunday brought trains to a near standstill in large areas, and that Banedanmark (the Danish railway company) had not yet been able to determine the root cause of the problem by midnight Sunday. Read more after the announcement.
Banedanmark is unable to provide guarantees
Banedanmark, the Danish railway and signaling authority, confirmed that it could not guarantee the resumption of train service on the affected lines at this time (as of Sunday evening). Mads Søndergaard, Banedanmark's regional manager, told TV2 that technical teams were working on several hypotheses but had not yet identified the root cause of the problem, describing the situation as extremely worrying.
A technological update turns into a crisis
Mads Søndergaard explained that the malfunction occurred during the implementation of an upgrade to a new signaling system that was being worked on over the weekend. This system is part of a national project to modernize railway signaling in Denmark. He added that the upgrade caused significant technical problems, and that the supplier, Hitachi-Structon, was unable to identify the source of the fault as of Sunday evening.
International teams working non-stop
The regional manager in Banedanmark revealed that the supplying company had deployed its full technical capacity to address the crisis, with specialists from Denmark, Germany and Romania working throughout the night to try to fix the problem. He confirmed to the source that work was continuing around the clock in an attempt to restart the system as quickly as possible.
Alternative buses amidst limited resources
TV2 reported that alternative buses transported passengers on the lines where train traffic was disrupted, to the extent possible, and noted that the Danish Railways Company (DSB) faced significant difficulties in securing a sufficient number of buses to compensate for the train stoppages, which exacerbated the passengers' suffering.
Central control system collapse
Banedanmark explained that the goal of replacing the old signaling systems is to increase safety and improve the regularity of train services in the future. Over the weekend, the company was implementing the conversion of the line between Aarhus and Fredericia to the new system, along with a comprehensive upgrade of its IT systems. However, this process caused a malfunction in the central train control system, resulting in a complete halt to service on the lines that switched to the new system, according to the source.
Uncertain date for the return of trains
Banedanmark also announced on Sunday afternoon that trains would not resume service on the affected lines before noon on Monday, but when TV2 contacted the company at 8 p.m., Banedanmark confirmed that uncertainty still existed regarding the possibility of adhering to this deadline.
Mads Søndergaard said that technical teams are working in shifts throughout the night, with continuous assessments of the situation, explaining that the company issues new forecasts every two or three hours depending on the developments of the work.
New signaling system with delay and additional cost
TV2 noted that the decision to introduce the new signaling system was made in 2009 with the support of a majority of parties in the Danish parliament. The project aims to replace the old mechanical systems that rely on relays containing materials such as gold and mercury, in addition to removing the traditional red, yellow, and green traffic lights.
Delay exceeding ten years
Despite the project's ambitious goals, the report explained that the new signaling system was more than ten years behind schedule and had exceeded approved budgets. Banedanmark admitted that the widespread disruption in Jutland over the weekend came as a surprise, according to the source.
Mads Søndergaard told TV2 that the company was aware that updates could cause startup problems, but did not expect outages of this size and prevalence.
A crisis is worsening due to a shortage of buses.
The TV2 report concluded by noting that the crisis was exacerbated by the difficulties DSB faced in providing a sufficient number of replacement buses, which increased the impact of the disruption on passengers in Jutland.
