Incendiary devices damage signaling cables on Bologna-Venice high-speed line near Castel Maggiore

On 7 February 2026, the first full day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Italy's railway network was hit by a series of coordinated sabotage incidents centred on the Bologna hub. Near Castel Maggiore, just north of Bologna, technicians discovered that signalling and fibre-optic cables used for train-speed detection and the transmission of transit data had been deliberately damaged within trackside manholes, according to reporting carried by the BBC and corroborated by other outlets.

Investigators reported that the damage was caused by a rudimentary incendiary device consisting of a plastic bottle filled with flammable liquid connected to a battery-powered timer, placed in the railway shafts. Reporting also described a separate device neutralised by bomb-disposal units on a track switch on the Bologna line, indicating a coordinated pattern across multiple sites the same day.

The disruption rippled across northern and central Italy, affecting high-speed, intercity and regional services on the corridors radiating from Bologna, including the Bologna–Venice line. The state operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane reported that high-speed trains were diverted onto conventional lines, producing delays of up to roughly 150 minutes and numerous cancellations, with around 40,000 passengers affected and no injuries reported. The Bologna prosecutor's office opened an investigation under terrorism and attack-on-transport-safety provisions, and on 9 February an anarchist group published an online statement claiming responsibility.

The incident fits a pattern of low-cost, high-disruption attacks on rail signalling infrastructure designed to maximise visibility during a high-profile international event. The use of timer-triggered incendiary devices placed in trackside manholes points to deliberate, premeditated targeting of soft signalling assets rather than rolling stock or passengers. Italian authorities are treating the events as terrorism, and an anarchist group has claimed responsibility; that claim has not been independently verified, and no perpetrators had been publicly identified at the time of reporting.