Sorø railway accident

In the railway accident Soro derailed on April 25, 1988, the InterCity IC 104 of the DSB from Fredericia to Copenhagen the entrance 800 meters west of the station of Soro due to excessive speed.

Starting position

Due to construction work on the through track, the train was supposed to enter Sorø station on the passing track.

The train consisted of the ME 1535 locomotive and seven passenger coaches with around 300 passengers. The locomotive was not equipped with a tachograph so that the exact speed of the train could no longer be determined after the accident . The train was about five minutes late after the ferry crossing over the Storebælt .

the accident

At 8:27 a.m. the train crossed the points at Sorø's western head of the station. According to the engine driver , he had overlooked the signal that the speed should be reduced to 40 km / h. When he noticed that the train was driving over the switch into the overtaking track, he initiated an emergency stop which, according to him, only took effect after a 6 to 8 second delay. The train drove over the switches into the overtaking track at more than the permitted 40 km / h. According to the DSB's havarigruppe, the speed was at least 100 km / h, whereupon some of the cars derailed.

consequences

8 people died, 72 were injured, 11 of them seriously. Before train operations were resumed, 500 meters of track and the two points had to be replaced.

The rescue operation following the accident was described as problematic. The various rescue services each used their own radio system and had difficulties communicating.

Legal processing

The train driver was sentenced on February 28, 1989 for gross negligence on duty, for a railway accident and for negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm to 50 daily rates of 200  kroner .

Web links

• DSB ME 1535. In: jernbanen.dk. Retrieved on January 4, 2019 (Danish, picture of the accident site). 
• Jakob Olling: Sorø-ulykken minut for minut. In: tveast.dk. April 25, 2018, accessed January 4, 2019 (Danish). 
• Danske togulykker & hændelser. toglyde.dk, accessed on January 4, 2019 (Danish). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Forum thread with newspaper clippings on the process. In: jernbanen.dk. Retrieved January 4, 2019 (Danish). 

Coordinates: 55 ° 25 ′ 5.8 "  N , 11 ° 33 ′ 46.4"  E