Guntershausen railway accident

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In the Guntershausen railway accident on November 5, 1973, the DC 973 crashed into the D 453 interzone train at Guntershausen station . 14 people died.

Starting position

It was drizzling . The interzonal train D 453 from Mönchengladbach to Leipzig Central Station left Kassel Central Station with a 7-minute delay at 14:18 . It consisted of 11 cars , pulled by the 216 023 diesel locomotive .

The DC 973 Ederland , pulled by the 110 243 electric locomotive, followed the interzone train within a few minutes.

Both trains used the same line to get to Guntershausen station . Only in the station does the Bebra – Baunatal-Guntershausen railway branch off from the Main-Weser railway .

the accident

The distant signal for the entry signal of the Guntershausen station showed the locomotive driver of the D 453 driving ahead: "Expect slow speed". This means a speed limit to a maximum of 40 km / h. Accordingly, he tried to slow down his train. However, leaves, moisture and dirt had formed a lubricating film on the rails . So he was not able to slow the train sufficiently, and the automatic train protection INDUSI conducted an emergency brake by, drove the train on the entry signal at an excessive speed. The train came to a stop in the northern entrance area of ​​Guntershausen station, with the last cars still standing in front of the entrance signal. The engine driver reported the malfunction to the dispatcher . The rear block signal Buchberg accordingly showed "stop" for subsequent trains, as the section had not yet been completely cleared from the D 453.

The DC 973 drove through the Rengershausen station at a permissible 120 km / h . After the exit, the distant signal to the Buchberg block read “Wait to stop”. The engine driver braked. But here, too, wet leaves lay on the rails in the drizzle, so that the engine driver was unable to brake adequately despite a 2200-meter braking distance . When the train passed the Buchberg block signal that indicated the “stop” , an emergency brake was triggered here too. But even that was insufficient because of the track conditions. At a speed of 90 km / h, the train slid further down the valley and hit the rear of the D 453 at around 40 km / h. The last passenger car , a blue 1st class car of type Am 202 , was severely crushed. The timetable department of the then Federal Railway Directorate Kassel was also killed.

consequences

14 people died and 65 others were injured.

In a large-scale operation by fire and rescue services, trapped travelers were freed, the injured were cared for and the dead were rescued. The route was completely closed for a day. The locomotive 110 243 of the DC 973 could be repaired.

Since the accident, there has been a speed limit of 80 km / h between Rengershausen and Guntershausen. The tracks are also regularly sprayed free with high pressure when the weather is good.

literature

  • Martin Weltner: Railway disasters. Serious train accidents and their causes. Munich 2008. ISBN 978-3-7654-7096-7 , p. 16.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ So: Credé; Kühling reports 13 deaths.


Coordinates: 51 ° 13 '54.6 "  N , 9 ° 27' 58.2"  E