Eisleben railway accident
The Eisleben railway accident was a rear-end collision on April 16, 1946 (according to other information: April 18, 1946) and was partly caused by the intervention of soldiers of the Soviet Army in the railway operations. 24 dead and numerous injured were the result.
Starting position
The second track on the Halle – Eisleben railway line was dismantled as a reparation payment . A work train , consisting of a locomotive and a freight wagon , which was manned by Red Army soldiers as passengers , who gave instructions on the ongoing dismantling work, was on its way from Halle . The train stopped whenever instructions were to be given. After reaching Röblingen am See , the plan was to drive through to Eisleben . But that was problematic because the only remaining and passable track was used by several trains . These were the work train and passenger train 592 from Halle in the direction of Eisleben , which had meanwhile arrived in Röblingen. Two freight trains came from the direction of Eisleben. One was already in the Helfta station , another was driving towards Helfta. In this tight operational situation, the dispatcher wanted to attach the work train to the passenger train, use it like a push locomotive, and thus save a timetable .
the accident
The Soviet soldiers refused to allow the work train to be attached to the passenger train. The dispatcher agreed to let the work train follow the passenger train as an unsecured train journey. Because of problems with the steam supply to the locomotive and because the soldiers wanted to stop, the passenger train drove far ahead. He had to stop in front of the entrance signal to Eisleben station, as the signaling on the line had not yet been adapted to the single-track operating status in order to receive a written travel order . The engine driver of the following work train recognized the train too late and started up.
consequences
24 people died. In addition, 16 were seriously injured and 23 slightly injured. Five German railway workers were found guilty and sentenced by a military court to terms of up to ten years in prison . The President of the Reich Railway Directorate in Halle , Oelkers, who had dared to point out the joint responsibility of the Soviet military, received a rebuke from the public prosecutor's office.
literature
- Erich Preuss: Railway accidents at Deutsche Bahn. Causes - Background - Consequences. Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-71229-6 , pp. 161f.
Individual evidence
- ^ Preuss, p. 161 and note 4 there.
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 51.5 ″ N , 11 ° 33 ′ 32.6 ″ E