Fiesch derailment
The railway accident of Fiesch occurred on 23 July 2010, when the last three cars of the Glacier Express derailed between the stations Lax and Fiesch holiday village in the Goms for speeding.
Starting position
At the traffic before the accident stretch was in a tight corner a speed limit of 35 km / h This was lifted just before the viaduct.
The Glacier Express 906 to St. Moritz was here from Zermatt on the road, consisted of panoramic carriage of types Breda and Stadler Rail.
Course
The engineer took the signal that the speed restriction lifted true and accelerated the train when the locomotive had reached the signal. Allows accelerating but only after the last car has passed the final signal. The driver accelerated so strong that it reached a speed of 56 km / h before the last car of the train had left the slow driving. The centrifugal force caused the car - a first - class carriage - without its wheelsets aufkletterten, upset against 11:50 clock. He ripped it, the two leading- Vehicles - another first - class car and a dining car - with. It broke the connection of the automatic brake hoses between the cars, which led to a rapid deceleration immediately. Who was already on the viaduct - - During the last two cars tipped to the side and it outlined catenary, the dining car was caught by a catenary in an inclined position. The two overturned cars ( Api 4032 and 4022 Ap type Breda ) were partially pushed sideways and had to be canceled after the accident.
Follow
A 64 -year-old Japanese woman was killed and 42 other people were injured, 12 of them seriously. 28 of the injured were from Japan. In addition, five swiss, four German, two Austrian and one Indian citizen were injured.
Five rescue helicopter from Air Zermatt, four of the Air Glaciers and one of the REGA were called to rescue. The last car of the train had to be secured with steel ropes, before the work could begin. The uninjured travelers were initially admitted in the holiday village Fiesch and later promoted by buses on.
The route Lax Fiesch the Matterhorn- Gotthard -Bahn was interrupted after the accident for one and a half days.
The investigation of the causes of accidents was carried out by the investigating judge and the Accident Investigation Board for trains and ships ( UUS). They led seven days after the accident to the conclusion that the train driver had accelerated too early. The UUS had already informed on Monday 26 July 2010 that no technical errors or defects could be found on the vehicles. The investigations focused on the track position and the speed of the train. The driver had against the UUS expressed that he had seen an irregularity in the track position, but no longer able to brake. Excluded were deformations of the tracks as a result of a previous temperature fall. A spokesman for the MGB denied in a television interview also related to railway works, which had taken place on this section shortly before.
The engineer in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter, multiple negligent grievous bodily harm and negligent disruption of rail traffic convicted and sentenced to a fine of 15,000 francs to two years on probation. He also had to pay a fine of CHF 500. The judgment became final.
Next worth knowing
An accident with the same cause occurred on 2 February 1991 at the same company, then still BVZ was called. Back then tipped entrained as the last car on train 143 tank cars, Voh 2893 in St. Niklaus VS order, because the train driver had accelerated too soon after a winding speed restriction. The case spilled oil caused extensive dredging of the contaminated soil.