Suspected sabotage and arson hits Italy on Winter Olympics’ opening day

Many travellers saw their trains delayed by up to two-and-a-half hours

Rail infrastructure near Bologna was targeted by saboteurs on Saturday morning, causing significant disruption to train services on the opening day of the Winter Olympic Games.

Police in Italy reported three distinct incidents across different locations, leading to delays of up to two-and-a-half hours for high-speed, Intercity, and regional services.

The state-owned railway, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), was forced to temporarily close its high-speed station in Bologna as a result.

The Transport Ministry, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, condemned the acts as "serious sabotage."

It drew parallels to similar incidents that affected France's high-speed TGV network on the opening day of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The ministry asserted: "These actions of unprecedented seriousness do not in any way tarnish Italy's image in the world, an image that the Games will make even more compelling and positive."

Police reported three separate incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to two-and-a-half hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services (REUTERS)

By Saturday afternoon, rail traffic was reported to be slowly returning to normal across the affected network.

Police said a cabin housing a track switch was set on fire before dawn near the Adriatic city of Pesaro.

Several hours later, electrical cables used to detect train speeds were found severed in Bologna, while a rudimentary explosive device was discovered by a track at a nearby location.

A spokeswoman said no one had claimed responsibility for the incidents, which appeared to have been coordinated.

Bologna is a major junction for Italy's east-to-west rail lines, and is also the key hub linking the south to northern cities such as Milan and Venice.

Milan is a co-host of the Winter Games alongside Cortina, which is reachable via train from Venice.

People wait at Milan's train station, as Italian police investigate possible sabotage of electricity cables near the city of Bologna that have caused delays to a large part of the national railway network (REUTERS)

Elsewhere, thousands of people took to the streets of Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns on the first full day of the Olympic Games.

The march, organised by grassroots unions, housing‑rights groups and social centre community activists, is seeking to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.

The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals squeezed by soaring living costs as an Italian tax scheme for wealthy new residents, alongside Brexit, draws professionals to the financial capital.

Some groups also argue that the Olympics are a waste of public money and resources pointing to infrastructure projects they say have damaged the environment in mountain communities.

A banner stretched across the street read: "Let's take back the cities, let's free the mountains."