Mass Casualty as German Train Derails in Forest 27/07/25

[trainmania100]

At least three people killed after train derails during thunderstorm

Photos from the scene show rescuers trying to saw their way into a train carriage that has been flipped on its side.

metro.co.uk

From the Metro;

A mass casualty event has been declared after a passenger train derailed in the middle of a German forest.

Several people were injured after the train came off its track in southeastern Baden-Württemberg, a spokesperson for the Stuttgart Federal Police confirmed to Bild.

Photos from the remote scene in a hard-to-access forest show rescuers trying to saw their way into a train carriage that has flipped on its side.

It's not clear yet what caused the derailment. Apologies if there is already a thread on this.

 

[k-c-p]

Let's hope for the best that nobody has lost their life in this.

The train was en route from Sigmaringen to Ulm an consisted of two class 612 trainsets. Each set has 2 cars. The pictures suggest that at leat two maybe even three cars have left the tracks.

We had a lot of rain, thunderstorms and strong winds over the last few days. Most likely this has played a role here.

Reporting from local public broadcaster SWR at https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden...hafen/biberach-personenzug-entgleist-100.html

 

[Peterthegreat]

Let's hope for the best that nobody has lost their life in this.

The train was en route from Sigmaringen to Ulm an consisted of two class 612 trainsets. Each set has 2 cars. The pictures suggest that at leat two maybe even three cars have left the tracks.

We had a lot of rain, thunderstorms and strong winds over the last few days. Most likely this has played a role here.

Reporting from local public broadcaster SWR at https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden...hafen/biberach-personenzug-entgleist-100.html

Unfortunately several people now reported killed.

 

[stadler]

At least three people killed after train derails during thunderstorm

Photos from the scene show rescuers trying to saw their way into a train carriage that has been flipped on its side.

metro.co.uk

From the Metro;



It's not clear yet what caused the derailment. Apologies if there is already a thread on this.

I wonder if the derailment was caused by either a tree on a line or possibly a landslip. I am sure we will find out more details soon but those seem the most likely to me.

Germany has had a lot of bad luck with train accidents in recent years. They had a major accident in Bad Aibling (Bavaria) in 2016 resulting in multiple deaths and injuries and then another major accident in Burgrain (Bavaria) in 2022 resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. Now this looks to be the third major one in the Southern Germany region in less than ten years. Fingers crossed this one has no deaths or major injuries.

It is not clear the exact position of the accident but the line between Munderkingen and Riedlingen certainly looks quite rural with some sections quite a distance from the road. It could make access rather difficult if it happened on one of the parts that is not alongside a road.

 

[Gloster]

The location is near Riedlingen on the Ulm-Tuttlingen line.

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Train RE55 (3227) 17:31 Sigmaringen to Ulm, left Riedlingen 13' late, made up of 612 133 and 612 112

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Dein Begleiter um Stressfrei Bahn zu fahren. Sucht die besten Informationen aus allen Quellen um dich ans Ziel zu bringen.

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[D6130]

Train RE55 (3227) 17:31 Sigmaringen to Ulm, left Riedlingen 13' late, made up of 612 133 and 612 112

Looks like a three car train from the press photos....unless the body of the leading car has been torn from its frames.

 

[43096]

Looks like a three car train from the press photos....unless the body of the leading car has been torn from its frames.

Definitely a pair of two car Class 612 DMUs.

 

[midland1]

Looking at one of the photos unless it is the telephoto lens the track looks to have a bit of a twist in it. And what looks like a wheel set just past it.

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Looks like a three car train from the press photos....unless the body of the leading car has been torn from its frames.

The 612 is only a two-car set and this is two coupled together, so four cars in total

 

[D6130]

The 612 is only a two-car set and this is two coupled together, so four cars in total

Thanks. That would explain it. Do I remember correctly that they are also tilting units?

 

[duesselmartin]

Thanks. That would explain it. Do I remember correctly that they are also tilting units?

The units are tilting trains. Not sure if that is active on this particular line.

 

[hexagon789]

Thanks. That would explain it. Do I remember correctly that they are also tilting units?

The 612s do tilt, but as with the ICE-T, not all drivers are passed for the German equivalent of TASS - GNT. So normally they operate in 'comfort tilt' mode of 4°, the tilt speeds applicable with the full GNT operation are no longer accounted for in normal running times, if a driver is GNT-trained it serves only to make up lost time now.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jul 2025 ==

The units are tilting trains. Not sure if that is active on this particular line.

Yes, it has ZUB 262 on that line.

 

[Tunnel Bore]

The video here
Video of site during rescue

has a view of some badly distorted track in the first half section - not clear whether is was cause or effect. There is though some signs of mud slide or movement in the embankments later in the video.

 

[YorkshireBear]

The video here
Video of site during rescue

has a view of some badly distorted track in the first half section - not clear whether is was cause or effect. There is though some signs of mud slide or movement in the embankments later in the video.

Based on the last shot in that video that looks like a landslip. Unless (with firefighters there) they have dragged equipment down that, but the lack of any equipment between the camera and the train would make me think that is a landslip that has covered the rail.

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Some more images in this thread by Neu-Ulmer Zeitung: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.d...erach-die-fotos-vom-rettungseinsatz-110515152

 

[YorkshireBear]

Some more images in this thread by Neu-Ulmer Zeitung: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.d...erach-die-fotos-vom-rettungseinsatz-110515152

That seems fairly conclusively landslip then, near a road over bridge too likely run off from the road.

 

[43096]

Some more images in this thread by Neu-Ulmer Zeitung: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.d...erach-die-fotos-vom-rettungseinsatz-110515152

Do you know what the railway speed limit is on that stretch of line?

 

[USRailFan]

Do you know what the railway speed limit is on that stretch of line?

The line has a max speed of 160 km/h according to German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnstrecke_Ulm–Sigmaringen
The speed on that particular stretch though, may of course be lower.

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

The accident location seems to be around kilometer post 58.8 of the line, near the village of Zell, where the speed is 120 km/h. Police reports say the K 7435 road is currently closed in the area so that fits geographically, it can be cross-referenced also with the pictures in the news and Google Street View.

This corresponds to the bit of the line just between crossing the Danube and the road bridge of K 4735, in this video at around 41 mins

(the train in the video is going the opposite way)

 

[tpfx89]

The line has a max speed of 160 km/h according to German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnstrecke_Ulm–Sigmaringen
The speed on that particular stretch though, may of course be lower.

120 according to OpenRailwayMap.Org, having just dropped down from 160 for the curvature.

 

[k-c-p]

Aerial shot of the accident site (on website of broadcaster SWR): :https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden...-a253d9ef734ceed2dcb1222775e1f0a268339ea8.jpg

 

[AndyPJG]

BBC News

Sewage spill causes deadly train derailment in Germany, police say

Three people have been killed and several others badly hurt after an overflowing sewage shaft caused a landslide that derailed a passenger train in south-west Germany, local authorities say.
Prosecutors said the train crashed between Riedlingen and Munderkingen near Stuttgart on Sunday following heavy rain in the area.
The deluge is believed to have caused an overflow, triggering a landslide on the banks running next to the tracks.
The train driver, another rail employee and one passenger died, while 41 people were injured. On Sunday, German Chancellor Freidrich Merz said he "mourn[ed] the victims" and offered his "deepest sympathy" to their families.
In a post on X, he said he was in close contact with the interior and transport ministers, and had requested that they provide the emergency services with all the support they need.
In a statement shared on Sunday, Ulm police said the train was on a 90 km (55 mile) route between Sigmaringen and Ulm when it derailed.
They said the investigation into the cause of the accident was ongoing, and the site of the incident would remain closed.
Rail traffic will remain suspended and clean-up work will begin on Monday, they added.
Around 100 people were on board the train when at least two carriages derailed in a forested area around 18:10 local time (17:10 BST), German news agency dpa reported on Sunday.

seems similar to the HST at Carmont maybe?

 

[tpfx89]

Definitely showing parallels to it, especially with the inclusion of drainage systems now forming part of the messaging being shared by the police.

 

[Bikeman78]

Some more images in this thread by Neu-Ulmer Zeitung: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.d...erach-die-fotos-vom-rettungseinsatz-110515152

These photos are rather sobering. The front vehicle is severely damaged. It appears to have collided with the tree visible in pictures 11, 21 and 24. It has broken in two by the leading door. All that remains of the front section is the floor.

 

[dutchflyer]

Provisional report from police here in DE=Germany, also on TV-news and most newspapers: a blocked gully (they use the same word here) due to extensive rains (after a rather long period of near draught) caused a landslide.
Among the 3 reported dead are the train driver and an apprentice for that position.
NOte that rescue-help here is most often done by ´Feuerwehr´ = fire brigade, also for non-fire related causes. They stock all that equipment that could be needed for such catastrofies.

 

[43096]

NOte that rescue-help here is most often done by ´Feuerwehr´ = fire brigade, also for non-fire related causes. They stock all that equipment that could be needed for such catastrofies.

That is much the same as the UK, where they are often now named "Fire & Rescue Service".

 

[Bikeman78]

I found this video of the clear up. It shows one of the carriages being taken away on a lorry. I think it was the second vehicle in the formation. Vehicles three and four are less damaged. Are these units steel or aluminium?