Arson attack on electrical cabin housing track switch near Pesaro

Before dawn on 7 February 2026, an electrical cabin housing track-switching equipment was set on fire near Pesaro, on Italy's Adriatic coast. According to reporting carried by Reuters and corroborated by other outlets, the blaze damaged signalling cables on the line, disrupting rail traffic on the Bologna–Ancona corridor and causing cascading delays toward Rimini and the wider Adriatic coast.

The Pesaro arson was one of three apparently coordinated incidents reported across the Italian rail network that morning. Outlets including CNN and CBC reported that authorities also documented severed electrical cables near Bologna and the discovery of a rudimentary incendiary or explosive device. The combined effect briefly closed Bologna's high-speed station and forced high-speed services onto conventional surface lines.

The disruption struck on the opening days of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Reporting indicated that high-speed services experienced delays of up to roughly 150 minutes and that tens of thousands of passengers were affected across northern and central Italy. Italian prosecutors in Bologna moved to open a terrorism-related investigation into the attempted sabotage, with the DIGOS special-operations unit leading inquiries.

Days later, a post on an anarchist blog under the headline "Fire to the Olympics" claimed responsibility for the 7 February sabotage attempts, framing them as opposition to the Games. The claim has been reported but not independently verified, and no perpetrators had been publicly identified at the time of reporting.

The Pesaro arson fits a pattern of low-cost, high-disruption attacks on rail signalling and switching infrastructure timed to a high-profile event, echoing the sabotage of France's rail network during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Italian authorities are treating it as deliberate sabotage and have opened terrorism-related proceedings. An anarchist claim of responsibility has been reported but remains unverified, and no perpetrators had been publicly identified. The clustering of three incidents the same morning points to coordination rather than isolated vandalism.