Lauffen bus crash

The bus accident Lauffen was the collision between a train and a bus on June 20, 1959 at a railroad crossing in Lauffen. 45 people died. It was the heaviest up to that bus accident in the Federal Republic of Germany after the Second World War.

Starting position

The Zabergäubahn, then a narrow- gauge railway from Lauffen after Leonbronn, no longer corresponded to the self-image of the German Federal Railroad after the Second World War. They therefore taught from 1954 a parallel railway bus traffic thinned and the schedule of passenger trains with the aim of shutting down the railway line eventually. The buses were still slower than the not very fast because of the narrow gauge railway is not just good road conditions. This led to problems: First, the capacity of a bus was less than that of a platoon of Zabergäubahn - the buses were therefore often crowded. So the day of the accident bus was only approved for 59 people, but carried 71 passengers. Secondly, the transfer times to the trains of the Franks train in Lauffen (Neckar ) station were very poorly coordinated. The bus that was involved in the accident, had a plan to arrive in Lauffen of the E 867 of Tübingen to Würzburg via Stuttgart dissipation to the minute Lauffen. However, it was the bus drivers probably succeeded more often, to arrive a few minutes early so that their passengers the train reached yet. In the opposite direction, an electric railcar, Et 4864 was out, the Lauffen had left at 17:27 clock. The Franks path was already electrified between Stuttgart and Heilbronn.

The path of the train bus crossed shortly before Lauffen, at kilometer 39.1 of the main line, a beschrankten, three-pronged crossing. Here are the two tracks of the double-track, standard-gauge railway francs were parallel to the one track of Zabergäubahn. The level crossing was protected by a gatekeeper in marshals 47. An approaching train was reported to him from the neighboring dispatchers phone. He then had the appropriate time interval before the train level crossing sailed, close the barriers. This was done mechanically with a hand crank and took about 12-15 seconds. The travel time of a train from the nearest station south Kirchheim (Neckar ) up to the level crossing was just under two minutes.

The travel times of the E 867 were matched to the traction with a steam locomotive of series 38. Due circulation came but once in the much more powerful express locomotives of the series 0110 used, so that the train could go faster. This is also the day of the accident with 01 1094th Due to numerous inconsistencies in the records and the watches that used the participants, was then the second-exact sequence of events between 17:28 clock and no longer to be clarified 17:32.

Course of the accident

When the E 867 the Kirchheim (Neckar ) station went through, the local dispatcher no longer reported the the marshals 47 From later klärbarer cause this but hesitated draining the barriers beyond. When he began, approached on the street side of the bus, drove a car before. The gatekeeper stopped in the middle of his work briefly held what the car driver regarded as an invitation to cross the railway crossing yet. Railway side, approached the express train whose locomotive driver noticed from a distance of 150-180 meters, that the barrier was not closed, warning whistles and rapid braking triggered. As the gatekeeper heard the warning whistles, he works on. But the bus had tried to still get through: The boom on the retraction side of the bus at the railway crossing hit him above the windshield on the roof. The locomotive acquired the bus at a speed of about 80 km / h and dragged him with about 400 meters. In this case, the overhead line has been damaged: There was a short circuit with the following power failure, so that the Et 4864 in Kirchheim station ( Neckar) lay at 17:32 clock.

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Immediate consequences of accidents

45 people died, 37 people, including the bus driver, died immediately or the next day; eight others succumbed to their injuries in the weeks thereafter. 25 [Note 1] other people survived seriously injured.

Legal processing

Were indicted by the Heilbronn Regional Court of gatekeepers and the car driver who drove on the railroad crossing at walking down barriers just before the bus with his vehicle. The criminal case began on November 30, 1959 At the trial, serious deficiencies in the safety precautions in the operating system of the German Federal Railways and the quality of the records of operations were uncovered. The gatekeeper had no exact continuous clock and also in Kirchheim station serious inaccuracies were repeatedly observed in the present there watches. Technical equipment for recording of operations were partially defective or known to be inaccurate. Similarly, in the service rules applicable at that time it was not clear at what time the barriers definitely should have been closed. The first instance verdict pronounced the car driver releases and condemned the gatekeeper.

This judgment was reversed by the Federal 1960 regarding the barriers keeper partially. The gatekeeper was eventually convicted of manslaughter in 1961 to a prison term of 9 months on probation.

Vehicular consequences

The accident increased public pressure on the state of Baden -Württemberg and the German Federal Railways to shift traffic back to the Zabergäubahn and more attractive. It was decisive that the Zabergäubahn was umgespurt 1964 to 1965 on standard gauge.

The railroad crossing is no longer seemed the same, but has been replaced by an underpass the road.

Commemoration

Horst Siebeckes Record of the Year in 1959 recalled the accident as one of the significant events of the year. Later, a memorial stone was erected at the accident site. On the 50th anniversary of a great commemoration took place.