João Ayres railway accident

The João Ayres railway accident was a collision between two trains on December 19, 1938 between the João Ayres and Sitio stations (now part of Conde ), in the Brazilian state of Bahia . 42 people died.

Starting position

The securing of train journeys on this route of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil was carried out by written driving orders issued by the dispatchers of the operating points and taken over by the locomotive drivers . A freight train was initially on the route . A passenger train followed him .

the accident

The dispatcher of the station João Ayres issued a driving order to Sitio for the locomotive driver of the freight train . The latter noticed its contents, but then forgot to take the paper with him. The engine driver of the following passenger train found the paper in João Ayres station , related the transport order to his own train and drove into the section of the route that was still occupied by the freight train. Since the passenger train was going much faster than the freight train, it hit him. The first three cars were completely smashed.

consequences

42 people died and 70 were also injured.

source

• Peter WB Semmens: Disasters on the rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3 , p. 97.