Fiesch railway accident

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Overturned wagons of the Glacier Express

The Fiesch railway accident occurred on July 23, 2010 , when the last three cars on the Glacier Express between the Lax and Fiesch Feriendorf im Goms stations derailed due to excessive speed .

Starting position

On the stretch of road in front of the accident site, there was a speed limit of 35 km / h in a tight curve. This was lifted shortly before the viaduct .

The Glacier Express 906 here from Zermatt to St. Moritz was traveling, consisted of panoramic cars of types Breda and Stadler Rail .

Course of events

The locomotive engineer took the signal , which picked up the speed limit, true and accelerated the train when the locomotive , the signal reached. However, acceleration is only allowed after the last car has passed the end signal. The engine driver accelerated so hard that he reached a speed of 56 km / h before the last car on the train left the slow speed area. The centrifugal force caused the car - a first- class car - to tip over at about 11:50 a.m. without its wheelsets climbing. He also dragged the two vehicles ahead - another first-class car and a dining car . The connection hoses of the automatic brake between the cars tore , which immediately led to an emergency stop. While the last two cars tipped to one side and catenary masts were outlined, the dining car - which was already standing on the viaduct - was caught at an angle by a catenary mast. The two overturned wagons (Api 4032 and Ap 4022 of the Breda type) were partially pushed in from the side and had to be broken off after the accident.

consequences

A 64-year-old Japanese woman was killed, 42 other people were injured, 12 of them seriously. 28 of the injured came from Japan . In addition, five Swiss, four German, two Austrian and one Indian citizens were injured.

Five rescue helicopters from Air Zermatt , four from Air-Glaciers and one from REGA were called in for the rescue . The last wagon of the train had to be secured with steel cables before work could begin. The uninjured travelers were initially looked after in the Fiesch holiday village and later transported by bus.

The Lax – Fiesch line of the Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway was interrupted for a day and a half after the accident .

The investigation of the causes of the accident was carried out by the examining magistrate and the Accident Investigation Board for Railways and Ships (UUS). Seven days after the accident it led to the result that the engine driver had accelerated too early. The UUS had already announced on Monday, July 26th, 2010 that no technical errors or defects could be found in the vehicles. The investigations concentrated on the position of the track and the speed of the train. The train driver told the UUS that he had seen an irregularity in the track position, but could no longer brake. Deformations of the tracks as a result of a previous drop in temperature were excluded. In a television interview, a spokesman for the MGB denied that there was a connection with track construction work that had taken place on this section shortly before.

The engineer was 2011, the involuntary manslaughter , multiple negligent grievous bodily guilty and negligent disruption of rail transport and to a fine of 15,000 francs to two years of probation convicted. He also had to pay a fine of 500 francs. The judgment became final .

Further worth knowing

An accident with the same cause occurred on February 2, 1991 at the same company, which was then still called BVZ . At that time, the Uah 2893 cistern car, which was the last car on train 143, overturned near St. Niklaus VS because the engine driver accelerated too early after a curve-related slow-speed section. The fuel oil that leaked in the process caused extensive dredging of the polluted soil.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from August 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) List of ongoing investigations by the UUS.
  2. ↑ Unlucky train traveling far too fast. In: nzz.ch. July 30, 2010, accessed October 14, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Swiss Railway Review 10/2010, pages 529-531, derailment of a Glacier Express near Fiesch
  4. ↑ http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/25162664
  5. ↑ http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/25162664
  6. ↑ The victim is a 64-year-old Japanese woman , view from July 24, 2010
  7. ↑ http://www.tagesschau.sf.tv/Nachrichten/Archiv/2010/07/25/Schweiz/Glacier-Express-verkehrt-wieder-nach-Fahrplan
  8. ↑ Regional journal Bern-Freiburg-Wallis from Radio DRS, July 26th 5:30 p.m. http://www.drs1.ch/www/de/drs1/sendung/regionaljournal-bern-freiburg-wallis.html
  9. ↑ Interview with Helmut Biner, MGB, on the cause of the accident ( Memento from August 2, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  10. ↑ http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/panorama/vermischtes/Schweres-Zugunglueck-mit-Glacier-Express-im-Wallis/story/16873556
  11. ↑ http://www.20min.ch/news/kreuz_und_quer/story/25162664
  12. ^ Locomotive drivers condemned in: NZZ Online from March 7, 2011
  13. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger of February 4 and 5 and March 8, 1991

Coordinates: 46 ° 23 '37 "  N , 8 ° 7' 24.7"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and fifty-two thousand six hundred and seventy-seven  /  138258