An ICE and a regional train collided early on Friday afternoon in Reichertshausen in the Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm district. The federal police said the accident was a “side trip”: the regional train drove from its adjacent track into the ICE’s lane at a switch and hit it on the side. The initial suspicion that the ICE derailed during the collision was not confirmed. Both trains were taken to the workshop. The ICE was badly damaged on the side.
Another ICE that was traveling towards Dortmund drove past the scene of the accident just a few seconds after the collision on the neighboring track. He braked sharply, but fortunately there was no serious collision between the three trains.
Is anyone hurt?
Around 700 passengers were sitting on the trains, the regional train and the ICE had to be evacuated. Seven passengers were slightly injured, according to the current status. Two of them were taken to hospital with minor injuries, a federal police spokeswoman said. No one was injured on the train to Dortmund, which had around 500 passengers. Because of the rail strike by the GDL union, which lasted until Thursday evening, the trains were particularly full, Deutsche Bahn said.
What effects did the accident have?
The section between Munich and Ingolstadt was closed until three in the morning. Deutsche Bahn announced on Saturday morning that train traffic was now possible again without restrictions.
What was the cause of the accident?
The federal police cannot yet say exactly how the collision occurred. This is now the subject of investigations.
It is possible that there was a malfunction in the switch serving as flank protection. An eyewitness who was sitting on the regional train reported to the SZ that the train did not come to a stop at the train station in Reichertshausen, where it was supposed to stop. Instead, the tip rolled onto the ICE track. The reason for this is unclear.
How did the passengers react at the scene of the accident?
Around 1,200 people were stranded in Reichertshausen. The mood among the passengers on the trains involved in the accident was calm, a passenger reported to the SZ on Friday. Many were relieved that no more people were injured. Some of those affected praised the railway staff, the police and the emergency services who were at the scene of the accident. 25 federal soldiers who were passengers on one of the trains also assisted in the evacuation of the trains. Helpful drivers took passengers towards Munich.
Where did the accident happen?
The accident occurred in the Upper Bavarian town of Reichertshausen, which lies exactly between Ingolstadt and Munich. The community belongs to the Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm district and is known for its castle and a golf club that was built in the castle park. The regional express towards Munich stops here once an hour. The ICE route Berlin-Munich passes the train station.
How often do train accidents occur?
Just on Wednesday there was a collision between an ICE and an empty regional train between Hamburg and Bremen. There were no injuries in the accident and the cause is still being investigated.
There have been several serious train accidents in Bavaria in the past. Five people died when a regional train derailed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in June 2022 because concrete sleepers on the tracks were damaged. There was a fatal S-Bahn accident in Munich in February 2022. Two trains on the S7 line collided on a single track at Schäftlarn-Ebenhausen station, killing a 24-year-old. In the meantime, charges have been brought against a train driver because he apparently canceled emergency braking several times.
Five years ago, a regional train hit a stationary freight train on the route between Ingolstadt and Augsburg in Aichach, killing two people. Six years ago, twelve people died in Bad Aibling, 89 were injured when two Meridian trains collided head-on on a single-track line. The cause: A dispatcher was distracted because he was playing with his cell phone. He then sent wrong signals.
Luckily there were no serious injuries or deaths in Reichertshausen, but the horror is great again after this train accident.