Workers examine the raising of a carriage of the regional train that was involved in the accident in mid-June
Image: dpa
After the serious train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Deutsche Bahn announces that it will inspect 200,000 concrete sleepers throughout the German rail network. On average, the components are 15 years old, they say.
MMore than a month after the serious train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with several deaths, Deutsche Bahn (DB) wants to check thousands of concrete sleepers. The work is precautionary, the group announced on Wednesday. The concrete sleepers examined are the same type of construction as on the section of track where the train was involved. The thresholds used there are currently being checked by the investigating authorities.
Even if the investigations into the accident are still ongoing and the cause of the accident has not yet been determined, Deutsche Bahn wants to inspect the identical sleepers in the network and replace them if there are any abnormalities.
diversions or delays
A total of around 200,000 of the sleepers in the entire German route network are to be checked. According to DB information, this corresponds to around 0.25 percent of all concrete sleepers in the network. On average, the components are 15 years old.
If “recognizable changes on the surface” were discovered, the sleepers should be replaced. In some cases this has already happened. The work could lead to diversions or delays, it said. On June 3, a regional train in Bavaria from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich derailed. Four women and a 13-year-old died. 16 people were seriously injured, about 50 slightly.
Recently there have been more and more indications that spoke for the suspicion that existed from the beginning that the accident could have been caused by technical defects. For example, a printed matter by the Bundestag’s Transport Committee speaks of a rail shift and “partly pre-damaged concrete sleepers”.
