BERLIN, April 4 (Xinhua) -- German police are investigating thediscovery of six metal plates being fixed on a stretch of railway in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen which nearly derailed a high-speed train, it was reported Sunday.

    The plates, measured 3 centimeters thick and more than 30 centimeters long, were covered by blue garbage bags which were spotted Saturday morning by the driver of a passing ICE, standing for high speed train in Germany.

    The driver pulled the emergency brake and although the train ran over the metal plates, it stayed on the rails.

    Law enforcement authorities of Nordrhein Westfalen said that the plates, which were sandwiched on one rail with metal bolts, are usually applied in construction sites to bolster scaffold.

    They said that it was unclear whether the incident was of terrorist nature, but that it could involve more than one criminalsince plates weighed 17.5 kilograms each and were fixed on a stretch with busy train traffic.

    After the incident, the railway, which connects Berlin and Cologne, was closed temporarily and 85 trains were delayed. Enditem