MILAN, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Trains operating through the heart of Italy suffered delays of more than an hour on Saturday following the latest suspected act of sabotage during the Olympic Games.
Services between Naples in the south and the capital Rome were affected, and there were also delays on the line heading north towards Florence.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini condemned those behind the incidents followingsimilar problems last Saturday on the network and another less serious case in midweek. The stoppages come as Italy hosts the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6-22.
“These are hateful criminal acts aimed at workers and at Italy,” Salvini said in a statement.
“I hope that no one plays down or tries to justify these crimes which put lives at risk,” he added.
The authorities were investigating burnt cables on a section of the high-speed line between Rome and Naples on Saturday, and two other possible acts of vandalism between the capital and Florence.
National police said that initial investigations indicated that these were “definitely criminal acts”.
Staff from the railway police and political police departments were preparing a report that would be sent to Rome prosecutors in the next few hours for the formal opening of a criminal investigation, they added.
An anarchist group claimed responsibility for an attack on the network last Saturday, the first full day of the Games, when rail infrastructure was damaged near Bologna, causing delays of up to 2-1/2 hours on high-speed, Intercity and regional services.
(Writing by Keith Weir and Emilio Parodi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Clare Fallon)
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