Photo: @Dyspozytura_T
On Nov. 16, track damage was discovered on the railway line running between Warsaw and the Polish town of Dęblin. The specific site of the incident was Życzyn (60 kilometers from Warsaw), near Mika station, Polish police reported on Sunday. The damage was reportedly spotted by the train driver. Emergency services soon arrived at the scene, and train traffic was halted.
Almost immediately rumors began circulating on social media that the damage was the result of deliberate sabotage. The X account Dyspozytura Trakcji, which has been posting updates on Poland’s railway infrastructure over the past three months, shared two photos showing a section of rail that appears to have been torn up as if by a blast. In the second photo, a metal cord resembling a detonating fuse runs across the rails. Journalist Christo Grozev noted that the damaged line leads to Rzeszów, Ukraine’s main transport artery.
The photos are being widely shared by Polish media, but their original source appears to be Dyspozytura Trakcji, rather than government authorities. So far, no one has reliably confirmed that the images are connected to the incident. Additionally, the outlet Miejski Reporter published photos from the scene that look notably different, with crossties not exposed on the ground.
At the same time, Google Maps features photos of Mika station in which the ground, the layout of the ties, and the double fastening rings all match the scene visible in the photographs published by Miejski Reporter.
Local media reported the presence of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) at the scene. A fire unit specializing in chemical inspections also examined the site, likely checking for explosives, notes political science PhD candidate and assistant professor at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Tomasz Pugaczewicz.
Major Polish outlet TVP.Info reports that on Saturday evening, the Mazovian Voivodeship police received a report of an explosion near the location where the damaged rail was later found. However, after an initial inspection, the report was not confirmed.
After making cautious statements throughout the day on Sunday, on Monday Polish officials confirmed that the suspected cause of the blast is indeed sabotage. According to Prime Minister Donald Tusk:
“Unfortunately, the worst suspicions were confirmed. An act of sabotage occurred on the Warsaw-Lublin line (village of Mika). An explosive device detonated and destroyed the railway track. Emergency services and the prosecutor's office are working at the scene. Damage was also reported on the same line, closer to Lublin.”
The prime minister released a video commenting on the incident, saying that the explosion “was most likely intended to blow up the train traveling on the Warsaw–Dęblin route.”
“Blowing up the rail track on the Warsaw-Lublin route is an unprecedented act of sabotage targeting directly the security of the Polish state and its civilians. This route is also crucially important for delivering aid to Ukraine. We will catch the perpetrators, whoever they are,” Tusk wrote on X.