Rail sabotage

A film from Camp Claiborne from March 8, 9 and 10 1944 of derailment tests done on the Claiborne-Polk Military Railroad. The tests were done to better train allied personnel in acts of rail sabotage during World War 2.

Rail sabotage (colloquially known as wrecking) is the act of disrupting a rail transport network. This includes both acts designed only to hinder or delay as well as acts designed to actually destroy a train. Railway sabotage requires considerable effort, due to the design and heavy weight of railways.

Sabotage must be distinguished from more blatant methods of disruption (e.g., blowing up a train, train robbery).

Methods

Relay cabinet arson

In 2022, setting fire to rail relay cabinets that control track operations was a common method of sabotage during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Track obstruction

Damage to infrastructure

Notable instances

Damage to trains

Motivations

Vandalism

Extortion

Terrorism

  • Both Isil and Al Qaeda have advocated for rail sabotage and have published detailed instructions for how to commit such acts.

Military

Simple Sabotage Field Manual published by OSS during World War 2 describes tactics for rail sabotage

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In popular culture


This page was last updated at 2023-11-10 09:59 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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