Microsoft outage disrupts rail operations in Germany

What happened

According to the notice, the disruption began at 7 p.m. An outage affecting critical Microsoft server infrastructure appears to be disrupting rail operations in countries like Germany. Microsoft is a consumer electronics and software company based in Redmond.

Deutsche Bahn reports that Microsoft Outlook is "running extremely slowly", preventing it from sending timetables for diverted services. Microsoft outage disrupts rail operations in Germany ⓘ Screenshot / DB Infrago An outage affecting critical Microsoft server infrastructure appears to be disrupting rail operations in countries like Germany.

The national railway company of Germany is reporting a major disruption under incident number BZI_34678, describing Microsoft Outlook as "running extremely slowly". The rail operator suspects problems with Microsoft's server infrastructure.

The disruption appears to be linked to a wider outage that Microsoft describes as "Service degradation on Microsoft 365 (Business or Enterprise) and Microsoft consumer products". As a result, Deutsche Bahn is having difficulty sending timetables for diverted services, a problem compounded by extensive construction work across its network.

The notice lists it as lasting until the start of the day. An update was issued shortly before midnight, according to an info bot on Mastodon .

Most overnight rail traffic consists of freight trains. Even so, the impact is difficult to assess because the notice does not specify how many timetables need to be sent at short notice or whether the disruption will also affect daytime passenger services, which begin around 4 to 5 a.m local time.