German Rail Accident

[ainsworth74]

BBC News are reporting 10 dead near Magdeburg:

German train crash near Magdeburg leaves 10 dead

At least 10 people are reported to have died in a train crash in eastern Germany.

A local passenger train and a goods train collided head-on in the state of Saxony-Anhalt late on Saturday, near the city of Magdeburg.

The cause of the crash, which left 43 are injured, 18 seriously, is unclear.

The passenger train, the HarzElbeExpress, was travelling between Magdeburg and Halberstadt, a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.

Link

 

[MCR247]

This is a really sad ending to my night

RIP to all deceased and hope everyone else recovers

 

[185]

Went on one of their Hex DMU trains once. Got shouted at for having a Deutsche Barn ticket and was made to buy one of their tickets, I didn't even know they had private railways in the north. "Vee are unts Privatabarn!" - lovely Veolia.

In the UK we only allow Veolia (Connex) to run bin lorries nowadays. Interesting to see the cause of this one, think it was possibly at a passing loop.

 

[starrymarkb]

Having seen the article with pictures I'm surprised more weren't killed. With a closing speed of about 130mph there isn't much left of the HEX Railcar

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351877/Ten-killed-50-injured-head-German-train-crash.html

The paper is also claiming both drivers had green lights

 

[WatcherZero]

Maintenence was being done on the line at the same time, guess we will have to wait to see what it was on and if that contributed to the wrong signals.

 

[The passenger]

BBC News are reporting 10 dead near Magdeburg:



Link

Hello and good evening,

this is very sad day for day travel and Germany itself. According to TV news this is the second worst rail accident after Eschede in 1998. Eleven people were killed and numerous are seriously injured including a 10 year-old kid and youngsters on their way to a disco/party.

First investigations about this accident quoted, that on this route there was no security system, which stops a train after passing a red signal, because it was not forced by law! Tragically some sort of security system should be in effect from 2011 after maintenance works on this route were done. At the moment it looks like, the engineer of the freight train is responsible to this accident. He's alive, but at the moment it is not possible to question him. The tachographs (or should i say 'black boxes') of both trains were found and investigations continue.

All the best to injured passengers and deepest condolences to the relatives of the killed passengers.

The passenger

 

[185]

Since Eschede this is the third. Not forget the Maglev crash in 2006
had 23 dead.

Eschede was poor design maintenance of train wheel coupled with no passenger trainstop alarms. (since changed on ICE) 101 dead.

Maglev crash was maintenance error, trackworkers truck left on Maglev trackway.

This HEX crash, 10 dead could likely have been also maintenance, we'll have to see. I'm sure the trains over there are fitted with some form of TPWS like we have here, to bring the train to a stop after a red -so driver passing a red seems unlikely. I also see fog played some part in this.

Which fool said our 'awful' railways ought to be more like our continental cousins?

 

[deltic1989]

I saw this on the news tonight the report said that the german authorities recon that everyone in the first carrage of the passenger train was killed on impact. its very sad and my sympathies to the families of all involved.