On 3 June 2022, a double decker regional train derailed north of

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

, near on the

Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway The Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway is a single track, electrified main line railway in the southern part of the German state of Bavaria. It runs from Munich via Starnberg and Murnau to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The first part of it was op ...

in southern Germany. Five people died and 68 passengers were injured, 16 of them seriously.

Derailment

Five passenger carriages derailed at a curve near Loisachauen in the Burgrain district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, heading north between

Garmisch-Partenkirchen station Garmisch-Partenkirchen station (german: Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bahnhof ) is a junction station in the German State of Bavaria. It is the biggest station in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It has five platform tracks and is classified by Deutsche Bahn a ...

and Farchant station. The electric locomotive was at the rear of the

push–pull train Push–pull is a configuration for locomotive-hauled trains, allowing them to be driven from either end of the train, whether having a locomotive at each end or not. A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via ...

configuration. The middle three carriages slid down an embankment next to the highway junction of

Bundesstraße 23 The ''Bundesstraße'' 23 (abbr. B23) is a German federal highway (''German:'' Bundesstraße) in Bavaria that runs about 59.2 kilometres, from Peiting to the Austrian border near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This highway (partially), along with the Bu ...

and

Bundesstraße 2 The Bundesstraße 2 (abbr. B2) is Germany's longest federal highway, running some 1000 kilometres from the Polish border near Gartz to the Austrian border near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From north to south; it passes through major cities such a ...

on the approach to the . The derailment occurred at milestone position , as measured from Munich. Three

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

supports were knocked over in the accident, while 500

sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

and 700 m of track were so badly damaged that they had to be replaced. Three of the double-deck coaches had to be

written off A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

. Soldiers travelling on board the train were able to provide first aid. The location of the derailment right next to a main road allowed emergency vehicles to be brought in quickly. Six rescue helicopters attended. Lightly injured people were taken to a local building for care. Train services were suspended between Oberau station and

. Five people were killed. Two of them were refugees from Ukraine. The accident took place on the last Friday before the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

holiday, meaning there were many children on the train.

Victims

Five people died in the accident: a 13-year-old boy from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, a 51-year-old woman from

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, a 70-year-old woman from the Munich district and two

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

women, aged 30 and 39, who had fled the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

in their homeland. In the first nine days after the accident, there were reportedly 44 injured, of whom 15 were seriously injured; the police later updated this. As of 12 June, 16 people were reportedly seriously injured, while 52 had suffered less grievous injuries.

Investigation

The

Federal Authority for Railway Accident Investigation The Federal Authority for Railway Accident Investigation (german: Bundesstelle für Eisenbahnunfalluntersuchung, BEU) is an agency of the Government of Germany charged with investigating rail accidents. Its head office is in the Federal Ministry of ...

(''Bundesstelle für Eisenbahnunfalluntersuchung'', or BEU) began an investigation into the course of events later on the same day as the accident. The Weilheim police service established a special commission with some 50 members, working under the "Munich II" Public Prosecution Service, to review any application of

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

to the accident. The commission was named "Soko Zug", the former word being a contraction of "Sonderkommission" ("special commission") and the latter the German word for "train". Further, the Prosecution Service assigned an independent external consultant to prepare an expert report analyzing the accident. The train was seized for examination; early on, the

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

s underwent close inspection. A length of a few hundred metres of rail southwards from the derailment site was dismantled for the investigation and likewise secured. The bogies and wrecked coaches stored nearby have since been under police guard, as were the locomotive and the last coaches still left on the track before they were taken away. The investigation quickly came to focus on the rails and the bogies, with concentration on technical defects. Even the earliest investigation, according to police information, showed that the permitted speed limit at the accident site had been observed. On 7 June, the "Munich II" Public Prosecution Service announced that it had begun preliminary proceedings against three

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

employees on the grounds of reasonable suspicion of

negligent homicide Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die. Examples include the crash of Aeroperu Flight 603 near Lima, Peru. The accident was caused by a piece of duct tape ...

. The three employees in question were the traffic controller who was on duty that day at the Weilheim control centre, the locomotive driver and the one responsible for the

permanent way A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

along the stretch of line where the accident happened.

References

{{Railway accidents and incidents in 2022 2022 in Germany 2022 disasters in Germany 2020s in Bavaria Accidents and incidents involving Deutsche Bahn Derailments in Germany

Train derailment In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially ...

June 2022 events in Germany Railway accidents in 2022

Derailment

Victims

Investigation

See also

References