Rudimentary explosive device placed on track switch near Castel Maggiore, Bologna-Padova line

According to Il Resto del Carlino, two devices were placed on the railway tracks near Castel Maggiore on the Bologna–Padova line at dawn on 7 February 2026. The outlet reports that one of the devices failed to detonate and was recovered, allowing investigators to examine it for fingerprints and other usable traces. The newspaper describes the improvised device as a bottle filled with flammable liquid fitted with a timer.

The paper reports that the Castel Maggiore incident was part of a wider, apparently coordinated wave of railway sabotage. It cites a simultaneous fire in a cable pit serving train-switching equipment on the Adriatic line near Pesaro. Il Resto del Carlino states that the disruption left thousands of passengers stranded and, in its words, split Italy in two.

Bologna prosecutors opened an investigation against unknown persons, while Ancona's anti-mafia and anti-terrorism district prosecutor pursued a parallel inquiry, according to the outlet. The reported charges include association with terrorist aims and attacks on transport safety, with multiple DIGOS police units involved across the country. The paper links the timing to the start of the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

Il Resto del Carlino frames the sabotage as the suspected work of anarcho-insurrectionist activists, reporting that investigators are scrutinising encrypted Telegram chats containing statements of intent and a blog post reading "Fire to the Olympics." No arrests, casualties, or claims of responsibility are reported, and no foreign state is named in the article; any attribution to a specific group remains a line of inquiry rather than a proven fact. The reported government response, a security decree announced by Interior Minister Piantedosi, indicates authorities treated the incidents as a serious, coordinated threat to transport security.