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Rail sabotage

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A film from Camp Claiborne from March 8, 9 and 10 1944 of derailment tests done on the Claiborne-Polk Military Railroad. The tests were done to better train allied personnel in acts of rail sabotage during World War 2.

Rail sabotage (colloquially known as wrecking) is the act of disrupting a rail transport network. This includes both acts designed only to hinder or delay as well as acts designed to actually destroy a train. Railway sabotage requires considerable effort, due to the design and heavy weight of railways.

Sabotage must be distinguished from more blatant methods of disruption (e.g., blowing up a train, train robbery).

Methods

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Relay cabinet arson

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In 2022, setting fire to rail relay cabinets that control track operations[1] was a common method of sabotage during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Track obstruction

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Damage to infrastructure

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Notable instances

Damage to trains

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Intentional switch misalignments

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  • 1982: An NJDOT commuter train crashes into a pasta factory in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, killing the engineer. Four youths who tampered with the switch were charged.[5]
  • 2024: On April 22nd, a BNSF coal train derails and collides with a freight car on a siding after a switch was intentionally misaligned in Bennett, Nebraska. The impact was caught on camera. [6]

Motivations

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Vandalism

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Extortion

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Terrorism

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  • Both ISIL and Al Qaeda have advocated for rail sabotage and have published detailed instructions for how to commit such acts.[7]

Military

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Simple Sabotage Field Manual published by OSS during World War 2 describes tactics for rail sabotage
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References

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  1. ^ "Railway sabotage after 50 days of war in Ukraine: here is what we know". RailTech.com. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  2. ^ "Explosion on Bridge". Press. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 26409. Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand Press Association. 1 May 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2022 – via paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  3. ^ Richardson, Len (1995). Coal, Class & Community: The United Mineworkers of New Zealand, 1880-1960. Auckland University Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-86940-113-9. Retrieved 26 November 2022 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "SABOTEURS DYNAMITE RAIL BRIDGE". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXXI. Queensland, Australia. 1 May 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 15 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "THE REGION; Youths Sentenced In Train Crash". The New York Times. March 30, 1985. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  6. ^ "Teenage 'railroad enthusiast' to be charged as adult in Bennet train derailment". 20 August 2024.
  7. ^ https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/1794_Jenkins_Train-Wrecks-Train-Attacks.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  8. ^ Beaumont, Hilary (2021-07-29). "The activists sabotaging railways in solidarity with Indigenous people". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  9. ^ "Oil Train Disaster Near Seattle May Have Been Caused By Sabotage". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-06-26.

See also

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