Status: 11/20/2022 3:13 p.m
Three days after the train accident near Leiferde, the fire brigade began pumping out the explosive propane gas from the wagons on Sunday. The first attempt had to be stopped yesterday.
The emergency services had measured an increased gas concentration in the evening. The reason for the higher concentration is reportedly no wind. The gas escaping from at least one of the overturned tank wagons is therefore not evaporating as well as in the previous days, according to a fire department spokesman on Saturday. This could result in an explosive, dangerous air-gas mixture. The safety radius around the scene of the accident was subsequently increased to 400 meters. According to the federal police, both damaged tank wagons each loaded 50 tons of gas.
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Fans are designed to reduce gas concentration
In order to make pumping possible, the fire brigade is now relying on artificial wind. Four explosion-proof fans were set up for this purpose. If there is no wind, they are intended to reduce the gas concentration at the accident site. Everyone at the site is now also wearing a gas measuring device, it said. According to the fire department, three small water cannons are available for emergencies.
Can all the gas be pumped out?
Pumping the gas out of the four tank wagons will take days, a spokesman said on Sunday. It is still unclear whether this can be completely successful. The reason for this is the position of the overturned wagons on the side, which means that the necessary connections for pumping out cannot be reached. Therefore, the last plan was to burn the remaining content in a controlled manner. But since this could also take several days, it is now being checked whether the half-empty wagons can be raised again with the help of lifting bags and cranes. A corresponding cushion was requested from the airport fire brigade in Hanover. For the complete pumping out of a wagon with special pumps, the emergency services had initially estimated a maximum of 20 hours.
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Wagons and locomotive are to be recovered by crane
Whether it is pumping out or the subsequent controlled burning off of the gas – this is followed by extensive clean-up work: four tank wagons filled with propane continue to block the track bed. Two of them are on the side. In addition, an empty wagon and a locomotive have to be hoisted out by crane. So that the vehicles in question can be brought to the scene of the accident at all, the muddy dirt roads were paved along the tracks. The Deutsche Bahn had a total of 500 tons of ballast delivered with several trucks. The intact wagons of the first train were pulled out of the danger zone on Friday.
Massive damage to overhead line and track bed
Before trains can run again on the railway line, the immediate consequences of the accident must also be eliminated. The railway assumes major damage to the overhead line, control and safety technology and the track bed. The repairs can only begin when the scene of the accident has been cleared, a railway spokeswoman said on Friday. The important Berlin-Hannover railway line will therefore remain closed until at least the end of November – which is why train passengers have to expect train cancellations and delays for a correspondingly long time.
Federal police are investigating the cause of the accident
The accident happened early Thursday morning. A freight train had stopped at a signal between Leiferde and Dalldorf, a following freight train with 25 tank wagons filled with propane gas had pulled up on the train. The 45-year-old driver of the train was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the second train was reportedly unharmed apart from a slight shock. According to the federal police, it is not yet clear what caused the collision between the freight trains. The investigations ran in all directions, said a spokesman on Friday when asked. We don’t want to comment on assumptions.
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