On 16 May 2015, a passenger train collided with a tractor and trailer obstructing a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

Ibbenbüren Ibbenbüren (Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Ippenbürn'') is a town in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Ibbenbüren is on the Ibbenbürener Aa river at the northwest end of the ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany. Two people were killed and 41 were injured.

Accident

At 11:31 CEST (09:31

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

), a WestfalenBahn passenger train travelling from

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

was in collision with a tractor and trailer that were obstructing a

, Germany. It was reported that the tractor and trailer, which contained liquid manure, became stuck on the level crossing. Extensive damage was caused to the front and side of the leading carriage of the train, which was a

Stadler FLIRT Stadler FLIRT (, ) is a passenger multiple unit trainset made by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. The baseline design of FLIRT is an electric multiple unit Articulated car, articulated trainset that can come in units of two to twelve cars with two t ...

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 ...

. It came to a halt past the level crossing. The train was travelling at around when it collided with the tractor and trailer. Two people were killed and 41 were injured, six seriously. Most of the injured were treated for

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Healthcare * Acute stress reaction, also known as psychological or mental shock ** Shell shock, soldiers' reaction to battle trauma * Circulatory shock, a medical emergency ** Cardiogenic shock, resulting from ...

. One of those killed was a passenger. The train driver was the other fatality. Passengers from the train were taken to a nearby community centre. Following the accident, a substitute bus service was put in place between

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

and Ibbenbüren. The damaged train was removed to a depot at

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

. The line through Ibbenbüren reopened on 17 May.

Investigation

The tractor driver may face charges of

negligent homicide Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die. Other times, an intentional killing may be negotiated down to this lesser charge as a compromised resolution of a mur ...

and causing actual bodily harm by negligence.

References

External links

Elaborated technical concept after accident
(in German)
White Paper (Deutsche Bahn)
(in German)
Elaborated Guide (emergency management)
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibbenburen train collision Railway accidents in 2015 Level crossing incidents in Germany May 2015 in Germany Ibbenbüren