Railway accident in the Landrückentunnel

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Leading power car

In the railway accident in the Landrückentunnel on April 26, 2008 an ICE in the Landrückentunnel , the longest tunnel in Germany , drove into a flock of sheep that had got lost there and derailed as a result.

Starting position

A flock of about 20 to 30 sheep had run into the tunnel. A veterinary report concluded that dogs had startled the herd and ultimately driven them into the tunnel.

At 8:59 p.m., the ICE 782 on its way from Munich to Hamburg hit a single sheep standing in the northern part of the tunnel. The train , which had a speed of around 230 km / h , came to a halt after an emergency brake at a distance of 249.545 kilometers . After consultation with the dispatcher and a brief inspection of the train, which revealed a torn LZB antenna , the train continued its journey after two minutes at a reduced speed with signals .

The ICE 885 was en route from Hamburg to Munich. The 360-meter-long train was a ICE 1 - multiple unit run consisting of the leading power car 401511-1, four cars first class , a dining car , seven cars second class and the trailing power car 401011-2 existed. The train left Fulda station at 8:58 p.m. Due to the gradient of the high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg in this section, the maximum permissible speed of 250 km / h was not reached.

the accident

Two derailed intermediate cars
Rear power car with a thick, deposited layer of dust
Leading powered end car 401 511 after recovery in the Mottgers depot

The ICE 885 hit the herd at 9:04 p.m. at the north portal of the tunnel at a speed of 210 km / h. The leading power car derailed with the front wheelset of its first bogie , but initially remained on track. At a speed of 174 km / h, he then hit the wing rail of a switch and was then pushed against the escape route of the tunnel on the right in the direction of travel . The derailed train subsequently destroyed the track bed . This made tracking impossible.

Both power cars and the last ten intermediate cars derailed. While the leading powered end car hit the tunnel wall on the right in the direction of travel, the intermediate cars leaned to the left and partially got into the clearance profile of the opposite track. During the derailment, the driver blocked the opposite track by means of an LZB emergency stop . Contrary to initial assumptions, however, the cars did not hit the tunnel wall. Until the train came to a standstill, it plowed through the gravel, creating a lot of dust in the tunnel. Around 31 seconds after it hit the first sheep, the Zugspitze came to a halt in kilometers 252.432. The vehicle lighting failed and numerous pieces of luggage had fallen from the luggage racks during the derailment.

consequences

The north portal of the Landrückentunnel at the beginning of June 2008, a few days before the reopening of the track on which the accident had occurred (right).

Immediate consequences

Of the 148 passengers and staff on board, 21 passengers and the driver were seriously injured. 13 travelers and the four employees of the on-board restaurant were slightly injured. The property damage to the vehicles and rail systems amounted to 10.32 million euros. Around 3.7 tons of animal carcasses later had to be disposed of.

At 9:08 p.m., the dispatcher in charge received an emergency call from the driver. He led this at 21:10 to the emergency control center on. At 9:33 p.m., the Fulda rescue train was informed by the emergency control center and moved out at 9:48 p.m. Contrary to the regulation in the group guideline 123.0150, the emergency control center only informed the Würzburg rescue train at 11:12 p.m. after repeated requests by the operations manager. The rescue train moved out at 11:59 p.m. and reached the scene of the accident at 0:44 a.m. The investigation report therefore recommended a revision of the emergency service guidelines.

Salvage

Since the tracks between the switch and the head of the train were badly damaged, the salvage work could initially only be carried out via the south portal. The vehicles were recovered with the standard equipment wagons from Fulda, Frankfurt and Würzburg and the 75-tonne cranes from Leipzig and Fulda. The last car was recovered on May 2nd. The tunnel was closed for rescue and repair work until May 13th. Long-distance traffic was diverted between Fulda and the Burgsinn depot via Flieden station . After that, the tunnel was once again accessible as a single track at reduced speed. Meanwhile, the superstructure on the Fulda – Würzburg track was renewed over a length of 1,600 meters. In addition, around 3,000 concrete covers were replaced to repair the cable and drainage shafts. Since June 16, 2008, the second track could also be used again.

Inferences

As a result of the accident, the Federal Railway Authority made a series of recommendations to improve safety. The report emphasizes that preventive measures - such as fencing the tracks or video surveillance - would have prevented the accident with a probability bordering on certainty. The doors of the access tunnels could not be opened from the outside by the fire brigade , the doors of the fire locks only with great effort, and a panic lock did not work. The report recommended u. a. a critical revision of the guideline for the use of rescue trains and a specification of the rules for the behavior of train drivers in the event of collisions with animals. According to information from Deutsche Bahn, studies of wildlife movements were made before the high-speed lines were put into operation and wildlife trails were laid out at critical points. Fundamental fencing is opposed by the fact that animals that have entered cannot leave the danger area by themselves. For example, on French high-speed routes, despite the continuous fencing around 2 m high, accidents occur several times a year with game overcoming the barrier. In addition, fences could also hinder rescue measures - according to the Federal Railway Authority. At the end of 2011, a game fence was built at the north portal .

The preliminary investigation into negligent bodily harm against both the animal owner and the railway was discontinued. The railway could not be accused of any "breach of duty".

useful information

On December 4, 1980, a similar railway accident had already occurred near Oberschleißheim : 200 sheep were run over by an S-Bahn , and one of the train's wagons derailed. The sheep had been chased out of their pen by a stray dog .

literature

Web links

Commons : Landrückentunnel train accident  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report: Train collision with subsequent derailment in the Landrückentunnel on April 26, 2008 . Bonn, May 14, 2010 ( PDF file , 1.8 MB, PDF page 4).
  2. ↑ NN: Dogs probably caused the ICE accident . In: Welt online , August 12, 2008.
  3. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 18.
  4. ↑ a b c Serious accident on the high-speed line - herd of sheep derail the ICE . In: Eisenbahn-Kurier , No. 6, 2008, p. 13.
  5. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report: Train collision with subsequent derailment in the Landrückentunnel on April 26, 2008 . Bonn, May 14, 2010 ( PDF file , 1.8 MB).
  6. ↑ Almost disaster in the Landrückentunnel . In: Swiss Railway Review , edition 6/2008, ISSN  1022-7113 , p. 274 f.
  7. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 12.
  8. ↑ a b Near-disaster in the Landrückentunnel . In: Swiss Railway Review 6/2008, ISSN  1022-7113 , p. 274 f.
  9. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 19.
  10. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 17.
  11. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 42.
  12. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (ed.): Investigation report , p. 20.
  13. ↑ Deutsche Bahn AG (Ed.): Landrückentunnel single-track passable after Whitsun . Press release DB-PM-2008-05-06 v. May 6, 2008.
  14. ↑ Federal Railway Office (Ed.): Report , p. 16.
  15. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 24.
  16. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 44.
  17. ↑ NN: ICE derailed in tunnel . In: Today's railways Europe . June 2008, ISSN  1354-2753 , p. 10.
  18. ↑ Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (Ed.): Investigation report , p. 25.
  19. ↑ Wolfgang Riek: After the ICE accident in the Landrückentunnel: Still safety deficiencies . In: Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine , April 26, 2012.
  20. ^ NN: Proceedings against Schäfer discontinued . In: Fuldaer Zeitung , February 18, 2009.
  21. ^ Railway innocent of misfortune in the Landbrückentunnel . In: Fuldaer Zeitung (online edition) (unknown edition).
  22. ↑ Hans-Joachim Ritzau, Jürgen Höstel: The catastrophe scenes of the present = railway accidents in Germany, vol. 2. Pürgen 1983. ISBN 3-921304-50-4 , p. 44.

Coordinates: 50 ° 24 ′ 21.2 ″  N , 9 ° 39 ′ 3.1 ″  E