The Ústí nad Labem derailment occurred on 28 June 2010 when a ''CityElefant'' train derailed at

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

, Czech Republic. The driver was killed and 11 passengers were injured.

Train

The train involved was a

ČD Class 471 The Class 471 electric motor unit, commonly known as ''CityElefant'', is a Bilevel rail car, double deck electric multiple unit operating on 3 kV DC overhead wires produced by Škoda Vagonka, a subsidiary of Škoda Transportation, since 1997 and o ...

''CityElefant'' double deck

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

that had been manufactured in 2001.

Derailment

At 16:47 CEST, the train was derailed on approach to its final scheduled stop, Ústí nad Labem hlavní nádraží, in the southern suburb of Vaňov. It was almost at the end of its journey from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

when the accident happened. The leading carriage smashed into a concrete wall after being derailed. The driver was killed and 11 passengers were injured, including two with serious injuries. The train's

cab car A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK, Ireland, Australia and India) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or t ...

was irreparably destroyed, while the other two cars survived with only minor structural defects. The line, which forms part of an international railway corridor linking Prague and Berlin, was closed following the accident, although one track was later reopened to traffic but requiring the use of

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s as the overhead wiring had been damaged.

Cause

Early reports stated that at the time of the crash, the train was travelling at while the speed limit at that location was . The most probable cause of the disaster was either a fault of the brakes or the driver's inattention. In March 2011, the Railway Inspectorate announced that the driver had not been "medically fit", and that the immediate cause of the crash was speeding.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usti Nad Labem Derailment 2010 in the Czech Republic Railway accidents in 2010 Derailments in the Czech Republic Ústí nad Labem District Accidents and incidents involving České dráhy 2010 disasters in the Czech Republic June 2010 in Europe