Freight trains collide near Gifhorn: rail traffic is severely affected | NDR.de – News – Lower Saxony

The Berlin-Hanover railway line is affected. The important route with numerous long-distance connections has been closed since Thursday morning. Several ICE and IC connections have to be rerouted or fail. Travelers should find out about their connections before starting their journey, recommends the Deutsche Bahn. It is unclear how long the restrictions will apply. “We cannot make a forecast,” said a railway spokeswoman in the morning.

Detours via Uelzen cause delays

There are also massive problems in regional traffic: According to a spokeswoman for the Metronom railway company, all long-distance and freight trains will be diverted via Uelzen until further notice. Therefore, the trains are delayed, especially on the Hanover – Hamburg route. On the Erixx route between Uelzen and Gifhorn, a replacement bus service was set up on the section between Uelzen and Wieren. Between Hanover, Gifhorn and Wolfsburg, the Enno trains only commute between Hanover and Lehrte. According to the company, rail replacement traffic will also be set up on the remaining route.

Two tank cars loaded with propane gas overturned in the collision.

Train driver seriously injured

The two freight trains collided between the towns of Leiferde and Dalldorf at around 3.30 a.m. on Thursday night. A freight train stopped at a stop signal, then a following freight train drove up for reasons that have not yet been clarified, said a spokesman for the fire brigade. As a result of the collision, the locomotive was badly damaged and lifted off the tracks. The 45-year-old driver of the approaching train was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, the federal police said. The other train driver was slightly injured.

Gas escapes from two tank wagons

According to the information, the 25 tank wagons of the arriving freight train were loaded with propane gas. Two tank wagons overturned in the collision and two more derailed. Two tankers had leaks from which gas was escaping. How much is currently unclear. The gas must first escape completely, said a federal police spokesman. The clean-up work and the investigation should therefore take at least a day, he announced. Several hundred meters of overhead line were also torn down in the accident. The electricity was shut off and the scene of the accident was cordoned off.

The area was cordoned off extensively.

Special factory fire brigade should take over

Federal police, fire brigade and emergency managers from DB AG are on site. Specialists from the works fire brigade of the Marl Chemical Park (North Rhine-Westphalia) are also expected in the afternoon. These are specialized in such accidents and have the necessary equipment, said a fire department spokesman.

No danger to the population

The gas escaping makes for a complex application design: propane gas is not only extremely flammable, but also harmful to health when inhaled. Rescuers can therefore only go to the scene of the accident with heavy respiratory protection. According to the police, the emergency services must proceed with the utmost caution and wait until everything has been released before they can safely begin to clear the scene of the accident. On the other hand, there is no danger for the population because the accident site is in the middle of a forest, said a fire department spokesman. The scene of the accident was “far away from the nearest buildings”. The wind also distributes the gas. That suits the fire brigade.

The following long-distance train connections are cancelled:

• Trains of the ICE line 9 (Berlin – Bonn)
• Individual trains of the ICE/IC route 24 (Hamburg – Hanover – Berlin / Berlin – Frankfurt/Southern Germany)
• Individual trains of IC line 26 (Berlin – Hanover – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Fulda – Frankfurt/South Germany)
• Trains on IC line 32 (Berlin – Hanover – Dortmund – Cologne – Mannheim – Stuttgart – Ulm)
• Trains on IC line 56 (Dresden – Leipzig – Magdeburg – Hanover – Bremen – Emden – Norddeich Mole)

on The following long-distance lines are partially canceled:

• Trains on IC line 14 (Baltic Sea resort of Binz – Berlin – Hanover – Dortmund – Cologne) are canceled between Berlin Ostbahnhof and Cologne Hbf
• Trains on IC line 55 (Cologne – Dortmund – Hanover – Magdeburg – Leipzig – Dresden) are canceled between Cologne Hbf and Braunschweig Hbf
• Trains on IC line 77 (Berlin – Hanover – Bad Bentheim – Amsterdam Centraal) are canceled between Berlin Ostbahnhof and Hanover Hbf
• Detours and delays will occur on other connections.