Technical error halts all trains in Sweden

All train traffic in Sweden came to a standstill due to a technical error.

Just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, trains were ordered to proceed slowly to the next station after phone contact between traffic control centres and trains was interrupted, Xinhua news agency quoted Swedish Daily Dagens Nyheter (DN) as saying in a report.

Bengt Olsson, press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration, told DN that it was a precautionary measure, as train drivers are warned over the phone should a vehicle get stuck at a railroad crossing or a person end up on the track.

"We have no idea what caused the error, but it means we had to stop the traffic," Olsson said.

He also said that it was too early to draw any conclusions about what had caused the error.

DN said it was not yet known when the problem would be resolved.