The Deadly Train to Hamburg

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A detached wheel shattered the safety record of Germany’s high-speed trains over their 7 years in service, claiming the lives of 101 passengers. This wheel is like Death hiding beneath the train, smiling grimly as it waits to claim lives. And all of this could have been avoided. On June 3, 1998, a high-speed train traveling from Munich to Hamburg suffered a serious derailment in the town of Eschede. This was the first and most severe casualty incident in the history of high-speed rail worldwide, resulting in 101 deaths, 88 serious injuries, and 106 minor injuries. Among the victims were 2 children, and 6 of the 18 surviving children lost their mothers. The German high-speed trains, which boasted having the safest advanced equipment in the world and a record of 7 years without any fatal accidents, witnessed a shocking tragedy in the space of moments. Many Germans still speak highly of the high-speed trains from the 1990s, considering them a symbol of Germany’s high technology. On June 2, 1991, Germany’s high-speed rail service began operating to widespread amazement and admiration. A top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, train carriages akin to those in business class on airplanes, and the extremely high safety standards touted by the railways are sources of pride for Germans. It not only **reduces travel time between cities, but also offers travelers a luxurious experience. According to the German high-speed rail company, German high-speed trains carried 10 million passengers in 1992; two years after their introduction, they transported more than 65,000 passengers per day. More importantly, over the 7 years since its operation, Germany’s high-speed trains have maintained a record of zero death accidents. However, a detached wheel shattered the safety record of Germany’s high-speed trains over their 7 years in service, claiming the lives of 101 passengers. This wheel is like Death hiding beneath the train, smiling grimly as it waits to claim lives. And all of this could have been avoided. At 10:58 on June 3, 1998, residents of the town of Eschede, 130 kilometers from Hamburg in Germany, suddenly heard a loud explosion, followed by complete silence. When the residents stepped outside, they found a 30-ton train car collapsed in their yard. Not far away, a 300-ton double-track overpass spanning the railway tracks collapsed entirely; 8 train cars were crushed together, the space inside being compressed to that of just one car, leaving over 400 passengers trapped inside. At 11:05, rescuers arrived at the scene, and the severity of this disaster became immediately apparent to them; the extent of the damage was astonishing to everyone. At 11:25, preliminary estimates indicated that 40 people died and 40 were seriously injured. At 13:45, medical personnel were on site providing first aid to 87 injured people, while 27 of the most seriously injured were transported to hospitals by helicopter. Rescue workers did not know how many people were still trapped in the car. Although the chances of finding other survivors were extremely slim, the rescue efforts continued until late at night. That night, the rescue team found the bodies of two railway workers among the debris. It turned out that they were carrying out routine maintenance near the tracks at the time of the train accident. Thus, the death toll has risen to 81. Over the next 48 hours, rescuers continued their efforts to find survivors, but to no avail. At 6:42 on the third day after the accident, the rescue operations were declared terminated. The world’s worst high-speed train accident resulted in 101 deaths. After the accident, an independent investigation team was quickly established. Thanks to the preservation of the accident scene and the thorough investigations carried out by the investigation team, the cause of the accident was gradually uncovered. The investigation results showed that, due to metal fatigue, the wheel rim of the first car of the train came off. 3.6 seconds before the train derailed, the detached steel wheel rim, which was in friction with the tracks at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, scraped against the guard rail at a track crossing point and then plunged into the carriage from below. The tremendous force caused the first carriage to break away from the tracks first. At the same time, the affected rail joints became loose; the first carriage continued to move along the main track after passing the intersection point, while the subsequent carriages were directed toward the branch track. With a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, the front part of the train and the rear carriages quickly separated in two different directions. The out-of-control third car smashed the pillars of the overpass beside the tracks, causing the entire bridge deck to collapse. The fourth car passed through the collapsing bridge deck, but the debris from the bridge fell on the rear part of the fifth car. The six following cars continued to move forward at 200 kilometers per hour, getting crushed together by the piled-up wreckage of the bridge deck, resulting in a tragic scene of lateral compression of the train cars. The investigation team noted that engineers at Germany’s high-speed rail company overlooked metal fatigue during safety inspections of the trains, as their regular inspection tools consisted mainly of flashlights. Staff at the German Fraunhofer Institute, which is responsible for testing wheels, said that flashlights can only help detect the largest cracks, but not the small defects caused by metal fatigue at an early stage. Inherent thinking leads everyone to believe that high-speed trains are absolutely safe, and this mindset causes the entire safety system to neglect accident prevention. Maintenance reports found among the train wreckage indicated that, two months before the accident, the train driver and other crew members had reported on eight occasions that the bogies of the train were producing unusual noises and vibrations. The German tram company, which had already identified the problem of metal fatigue, even issued a formal warning to Germany’s high-speed rail company 4 months ago regarding the metal wear on double-shell steel wheels, but this warning was not given due attention. And so, under the cover of Deutsche Bahn’s negligence, Death managed to evade all searches and, along with the people on the train, headed toward a path of destruction. This accident prompted the whole world to reassess the safety issues of high-speed trains. Today, all countries that have high-speed railways, including Germany, attach great importance to the professional training and assessment of railway staff, and make an effort to educate passengers about safe ways of traveling by high-speed train. It turns out that any technological advancement ultimately requires human effort to bring it to fruition. Having learned from their mistakes, the Germans were the first to take action. Germany’s General Railway Act stipulates that railway companies are obligated to operate safely, to build infrastructure, vehicles, and related facilities in a safe manner, and to maintain them so that they can function safely. To fulfill their statutory safety obligations, railway companies must implement safety management, in particular by retaining qualified and highly skilled corporate safety officers. Germany’s Regulations on Safety Managers in Railway Enterprises go further by stipulating that the safety manager is primarily responsible for safety management and should be separated from the company’s management team. The safety manager possesses special legal powers to safeguard safety interests rather than economic interests. The qualification to serve as a safety supervisor requires passing a **specific examination, and safety supervisors hired by railway companies must also receive formal approval from the railway regulatory authorities.