# Signal Disruption Halts Rail Traffic: Freight Trains Still Stalled **Category:** Operational Alerts | **Source:** Frachtportal Redaktion | **Published:** 2026-06-24 | **Updated:** 2026-06-26 **Tags:** GSM Störung, DB, Deutsche Bahn, Bahnfunk, DB Cargo, Kombiverkehr, Logistik News, Transport News, Fracht News, Speditions News, Supply Chain News, Zoll News, Frachtportal News, Seefracht, Schienentransport, Digitalisierung > A nationwide failure of the railway communication system GSM-R halted train operations for approximately two hours. The following day, around half of the freight trains remained inactive. --- On Tuesday evening, June 23, rail transport in Germany suddenly came to a halt. The digital train radio system GSM-R failed nationwide. Trains were stopped at stations and on safe sections of track. After about two hours, the technical disruption was resolved and some trains were able to resume operations. However, for freight transport, the situation was far from over. Freight trains largely operate at night. This is precisely why the outage hit the industry particularly hard. On the morning of June 24, the association Die Güterbahnen reported that around half of its trains were still halted across Germany and at the borders. The problem: a freight train does not simply restart after a disruption. Locomotive drivers, routes, terminals, and transfers need to be re-coordinated. If a train stands still for too long, it will be missing later at some other location. This creates a backlog, which can be felt for several days. Containers arrive at terminals late, connecting trains are missed, and customers have to wait longer for their goods. GSM-R is the radio communication between locomotive drivers and train dispatchers. Without this connection, rail traffic cannot continue normally for safety reasons. The fact that a single system can halt traffic throughout Germany raises questions about technical safety measures. --- For shippers and freight forwarders, this means: Expect delays in rail and combined transport. Fixed terminal windows, ship connections, and time-sensitive deliveries to factories are particularly critical. A train that is delayed today is often missing from another location tomorrow. In short: The radio interference was resolved after two hours. The logistics backlog is not. --- The disruption began late in the evening on June 23, 2026. The digital railway radio system GSM-R was affected. Rail traffic was largely at a standstill nationwide for about two hours. Long-distance traffic, regional traffic, suburban trains, private providers, and freight trains were impacted. From around 0:30 AM, the first trains started rolling again. According to the association Die Güterbahnen, about half of its freight trains remained idle in the morning of June 24. The association expects that the backlog will burden logistics chains for several more days. The exact cause is being investigated by the railway. A cyberattack or sabotage have not been confirmed initially. --- *Canonical URL: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/funkstoerung-legt-bahnverkehr-lahm-gueterzuege-stehen-noch-immer-20260624235415](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/funkstoerung-legt-bahnverkehr-lahm-gueterzuege-stehen-noch-immer-20260624235415)* *Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/funkstoerung-legt-bahnverkehr-lahm-gueterzuege-stehen-noch-immer-20260624235415](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/funkstoerung-legt-bahnverkehr-lahm-gueterzuege-stehen-noch-immer-20260624235415)*