Italian transport minister Matteo Salvini expressed concern Saturday at ‘serious incidents of sabotage’ that delayed trains in central Italy, suggesting they could be linked the opening of the Winter Olympics.

Police are investigating three incidents of damage on lines around Bologna, and have not ruled out a potential link to the Milan-Cortina Games, the ANSA agency said.

A police spokesman confirmed to AFP that a fire at a switch on the Bologna-Venice link was likely arson, but said nobody had yet claimed responsibility.

The opening ceremony of the Games took place on Friday evening in the northern city of Milan, while the sporting competitions are taking place there and across the mountains in northern Italy.

Salvini, leader of the far-right League party and a member of prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, said he was ‘closely monitoring the situation’.

‘The serious incidents of sabotage that occurred this morning near Bologna train station and in Pesaro, causing significant disruption to thousands of travellers, are worrying,’ he said in a statement.

He noted the rail sabotage that paralysed France’s high-speed train network hours ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony in July 2024.

Asked if he had specific information about a link with the Milan-Cortina Olympics, his spokesman told AFP: ‘There are similarities in action and timing’ to the French incident.

Salvini ‘is closely monitoring the situation, which law enforcement agencies are addressing’, the statement added.

A spokeswoman for Italian state rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato referred questions to police but told AFP the delays were not the result of a technical fault.

She said there were ‘delays but the line is not down’.

Suspected acts of sabotage or arson have in the past been blamed for delays on Italy’s railways—and not always with justification.