Status: 11/17/2022 2:33 p.m
The collision of two freight trains and the escape of highly flammable Propane gas near Leiferde (Gifhorn district) continues to cause significant disruption to regional and long-distance rail traffic.
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. It is not yet clear how long the restrictions will last. The federal police are pessimistic: “According to initial assessments, rail traffic will not roll in the next few days,” said a spokesman in the early afternoon. The trains would have to be salvaged, the overhead line repaired – and it is also unclear whether the rails and the subsoil are affected. Deutsche Bahn has not yet made any statement about the duration of the route closure. A prognosis is initially not possible, it said. Travelers should check before boarding inform about their connectionsthe company announced.
Detours via Uelzen cause delays
In addition to long-distance traffic, the accident also affects 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, a rail replacement service is also to be set up on the remaining route.
Train driver seriously injured
Two tank cars loaded with propane gas overturned in the collision.
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.
Escaping gas delays rescue and clean-up work
According to the information, the 25 tank wagons of the freight train that was approaching were loaded with propane gas, which can form a highly explosive mixture when combined with air. 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. Rescue and clean-up work was delayed due to the escaping gas. The gas must first escape completely, said a federal police spokesman. He assumed a period of at least one day for the clean-up work. There is currently a “picture of destruction and devastation” at the scene of the accident, the spokesman said on Thursday afternoon. 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 within a radius of one kilometer.
Special factory fire brigade should take over
The area was cordoned off extensively.
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 leak makes for a complex application design: propane gas is not only highly flammable, but also harmful 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.
AUDIO: Train accident near Gifhorn: propane escapes (1 min)
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.
Further information
