Baku, December 6, AZERTAC

A major communications failure has paralysed much of the British railway network, leading to freight delays and commuter cancellations, according to RailFreight.com. Fears over digital interference are at an all-time high, prompting concerns over cyber security. Meanwhile, train drivers across Britain were puzzled by the silence on their cab comms. Signallers felt as bereft as mission controllers with all their screens showing “LOS” – Loss of Signal. Hamilton to Hounslow, we have a problem. This morning, the wireless comms system that puts signallers in touch with drivers, just wasn’t. That’s no joke and it’s left the British rail network in meltdown.

From ScotRail to South Eastern, early morning commuters arrived at stations to the dismay of an entire departure board turned red – just like the signals down the line. In a system which (rightly) defaults to safety first, the first thing that happens in a communications failure is a revert to red. That’s what happened this morning on lines from Scotland to the south of England.

“Services across the National Rail network may be subject to delays this morning,” said an early morning statement from an undoubtedly bleary-eyed spokesperson for the network, who said commuters would feel the worst effects. “Trains on some routes across the network are having to start their journeys and may also be subject to short-notice cancellations.”

Already, conspiracy theorists have been making obvious, and not so obvious, connections. Ironically, connections are the thing the railways are not making right now. However, with the official cyber-security level in the UK currently at ‘panic-stricken’, thoughts of foreign actors are never far from the headlines. It was only yesterday, say some, that a major Russian-backed multi-national, multi-billion pound money laundering network – based in London – was shattered by law enforcement authorities. Could this be revenge? Not likely, say the more level-headed observers.