Northeim railway accident

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The Northeim railway accident was the derailment of a freight train at around 1.30 a.m. on November 15, 1992 at the north end of Northeim station , in the rubble of which the express train from Munich to Copenhagen then drove into. 11 dead and 51, some seriously injured, were the result.

Starting position

A freight train was traveling south on the double- track Hanover – Göttingen line , in the opposite direction of the D 482 from Munich to Copenhagen.

the accident

A buffer detached itself from an auxiliary train car that had been placed in the freight train , fell onto the track and initially derailed one car at the northern end of Northeim station , which led to the derailment of another 14 freight cars. Some of these cars now protruded into the clearance profile of the opposite track on which the express train was approaching at a speed of almost 120 km / h. It is true that the rubble on the opposite track caused the track vacancy detection system to report an occupancy, so that the entry signal for the Northeim station, which indicated “Drive” for the D482, fell back to “Stop”. At this point the D482 locomotive was already directly in front of the entry signal. The train driver therefore had no chance of reacting to the change in signal position in time. The emergency braking that occurred when the signal was crossed could no longer be significantly effective due to the short distance of 180 meters from the signal to the obstacle. The locomotive drove with its front at a speed of about 120 km / h into the wagon debris standing in the track and then scraped with the train at about 100 km / h past the freight wagons protruding into the track. The driver's cab of the locomotive of the express train ( DB class 110 ) was pushed in to the rear wall. The locomotive and the front wagons were also slit open at the side, derailed and some of them overturned. A sleeping car and another car fell from the bridge over the B 241 , broke through the railing and were left lying upside down. Only after several hundred meters did the train stop.

consequences

11 people died and 51 were injured, some seriously. The driver of the express train was trapped in the badly damaged locomotive and was also killed.

The first rescuers arrived twelve minutes after the accident . Almost 500 helpers from the fire brigade , technical relief organization (THW), rescue services and police were on duty, around 250 from THW alone. It was the largest disaster operation in Northeim's history . A reception camp for the injured and stranded travelers was set up near the train station with tents and beds.

Memorial stone to the accident

The public prosecutor's office investigated for years. However, the proceedings were finally dropped because no one could be proven to be guilty of individual guilt. It is a "chain of unfortunate circumstances". If the D482 had been on the move only about 30 seconds later, the engine driver would have been able to react in good time to the “stop” signal from the Northeim station's entry signal and stop the train in front of the obstacle. In memory of the accident, a memorial stone was placed near the train station.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Picture from THW Northeim , the number 110 is mirror-inverted.
  2. ^ Article in Spiegel from November 23, 1992, issue 48/1992, pp. 101-105

Coordinates: 51 ° 42 ′ 17.8 "  N , 9 ° 59 ′ 14.2"  E