ⓘ Screenshot / DB Infrago
The German national railway company reports a major disruption with the incident number BZI_34678, describing Microsoft Outlook as “running extremely slowly”. The train operator suspects problems with Microsoft’s server infrastructure. The outage appears to be linked to a larger outage that Microsoft describes as “service degradation across Microsoft 365 (Business or Enterprise) and Microsoft consumer products.”
As a result, Deutsche Bahn has difficulty sending timetables of diverted services, a problem exacerbated by extensive construction work across its network. According to the notice, the outage would begin at 7pm on November 12. The advisory is expected to last until the start of the day. An update was released just before midnight, according to an information bot on Mastodon.
Most nighttime rail traffic consists of freight trains. Even so, the impact is difficult to assess because the notice does not specify how many schedules will have to be sent at short notice or whether the disruption will also affect daytime passenger services, which begin around 4-5 a.m. local time.
Reports of problems with rail operations have also emerged in other countries. According to a post on Bluesky, Australia’s ABC reports that an unnamed train operator is having trouble sending emails. Apparently the operator cannot send trains on its network.
Canada’s Via Rail also reported problems on Twitter. Its operations are unaffected, but communications with customers are interrupted, preventing it from sending notifications of train delays.
Microsoft is working to resolve the outage. However, the servers that the company successfully brought back online subsequently crashed again, leaving some services with limited availability. Exchange Online tops the list: “Exchange Online: Users may not be able to access their inbox using Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop.” The outage may also affect entire workstations, as Windows 365 Cloud PCs are among the affected services.
I have been involved in IT for over 20 years, first as a system administrator (Mac and PC; 2000-2014) and then as a journalist (from 2005 onwards). I have attended numerous industry events, such as IDF, Displayweek, Computex, CES and IFA, to cover topics such as mobile and local area networks, Bluetooth standards and developments in the mobile industry. Since 2017 I have also worked as an aviation journalist, which means traveling around the world reporting on both planes and trains.
My passion for technology dates back to the Pentium II era. Since then, modding, overclocking, and maintaining computer hardware have become an integral part of my life. As a student, I further developed a keen interest in mobile technologies that can make stressful university life much easier. After falling in love with digital content creation while working in a marketing position, I now explore the web to bring you the hottest topics in the world of technology. Outside the office I am particularly passionate about motor sports and mountain biking.
