Two people were killed and five injured in a knife attack on a regional train in northern Germany, officials said.

A man attacked passengers with a knife on a train travelling from Kiel to Hamburg shortly before 3:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday before arriving at Brokstedt station. He was arrested shortly afterwards, a police spokesman was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.

The station was sealed off by the police to allow emergency services to continue their work. Germany's state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn announced on Twitter that there would be train cancelations between Hamburg, Kiel and Neumuenster.

A spokeswoman for the police in Itzehoe, a city close to Brokstedt, said that further details remained elusive. (KB/IANS)