Railway accident in Zurich-Affoltern

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In the Zurich-Affoltern railway accident on March 8, 1994, tank wagons of a freight train that transported around 1500 cubic meters of petrol derailed . The gasoline ignited and there was a major fire.

Starting position

On the single-track railway line Wettingen-Effretikon was complete train of 20 tank cars from the Rhine port Birsfelden to Häggenschwil go. Six of the 75 per cubic meter cars were with premium gasoline 14 filled with unleaded petrol. The train left Birsfelden around 6:30 a.m.

A high-voltage line carrying 132  kV runs parallel to the railway line in the area of ​​the Zurich - Affoltern train station .

the accident

derailment

A technical defect occurred about five kilometers from Zurich-Affoltern train station : at a speed of about 70 km / h, the rear axle of the rear bogie of the seventh car lost its wheelset bearings and derailed. " Material fatigue" was found later. At around 8:10 a.m., the second axle of the bogie also derailed at the entrance switch to the Zurich-Affoltern train station. At a subsequent level crossing , the car broke out of the train composition, overturned, broke through a concrete wall accompanying the tracks and overturned. He also rammed one of the concrete masts of the high-voltage line, which overturned. The car leaked.

The engine driver noticed the main line pressure was dropping and saw the catenary and high voltage pylons sway. The clutch to the third car broke. Third to sixth cars also came to a standstill due to the emergency braking, but remained on the track and could later be pulled out of the danger zone. Cars eight to ten derailed, overturned and slipped past the car causing the accident. They also leaked and large amounts of gasoline leaked. The two following cars also derailed, but stopped. The other wagons stayed on the track. The engine driver secured the locomotive and left the train.

fire

It was no longer possible to clarify whether the immediate ignition of the gasoline was caused by sparks from the cracked high-voltage line or by frictional heat from the wagons sliding over the superstructure . There were several explosions , the flames reached up to 100 meters high. Some of the gasoline flowed into the sewer system , where it exploded a few minutes later and blew dozens of manhole covers from the streets. The floor was torn open in several places. A rain clarifier 800 meters from the scene of the accident was destroyed. In parts of Zurich-North there was a risk of explosion throughout the day. The fire spread from the immediate site of the accident to a neighboring residential area. Three houses burned down and a fourth was damaged. 23 people were left homeless.

consequences

Three people were seriously injured in the accident. The fire brigade triggered a disaster alarm. The fact that there were no more injuries or even deaths was due to the rapid evacuation of 120 people. The engine driver suffered a severe shock.

Alerted by several residents, the Zurich professional fire brigade triggered a major alarm at 8:12 a.m. The first fire brigade units reached the scene of the accident around 8:20 a.m. The site of the accident was cordoned off over a large area. About 120 residents from ten surrounding houses, a shopping center and a kindergarten with 36 children were evacuated. Tank wagons that did not catch fire were cooled. The locomotive and ten still roadworthy cars in the front and rear sections of the train could be pulled and pushed out of the danger area, partly by hand.

literature

  • Jakob Robmann: Major Zurich-Affoltern event, Tuesday, March 8, 1993: Brief event report. Urban drainage Zurich, Zurich 1994.
  • Hans-Rudolf Steiner: The gasoline disaster of March 8, 1994 in the Zurich-Affoltern train station and the consequences for the sewage system. In: Joachim Lenz (Ed.): Safe supply and disposal through pipelines (= series of publications from the Institute for Pipeline Construction at the Oldenburg University of Applied Sciences. Vol. 10). Vulkan, Essen 1996, pp. 68-81.
  • Jürg Wiesmann: The gasoline disaster of March 8, 1994 in the Zurich-Affoltern train station and the consequences for the sewage system. In: Correspondence waste water. 1995, No. 3, pp. 388-402.

Web links

Coordinates: 47 ° 25 ′ 16 "  N , 8 ° 30 ′ 29"  E ; CH1903:  680,696  /  252805