In Germany, a problem with a communications system forced country’s railway network to halt all trains late yesterday, leaving passengers stranded across the country.

The main national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said there was a nationwide problem with the GSM-R digital communication system, which is used for internal communication on the railway network. It later said that the cause had been identified but did not specify what it was. In recent years, complaints about train delays and disruptions in Germany have become increasingly frequent.

Government-owned Deutsche Bahn has started conducting thorough but disruptive overhauls of major routes after years of underinvestment in a bid to improve its performance.