Berlin – Good news for passengers on the Berlin S-Bahn: after the derailment in the underground part of the Friedrichstrasse station, it became apparent on Tuesday that train traffic in the north-south tunnel was normal. “Tonight we will go through again step by step,” said a S-Bahner on Tuesday evening of the Berliner Zeitung. “Tomorrow at the start of operations there should be the full program again.” That would mean that from this Wednesday (December 22nd) on, both the S1 and the S2, S25 and S26 on the original routes according to the usual timetable on both tunnel tracks circulate.
Is the cause of the accident in the infrastructure?
An S2 to Blankenfelde derailed on Thursday night (December 16) at around 0.01 a.m. at the entrance to platform 11 of the Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn station. None of the 30 or so passengers were injured. While the S-Bahn users first had to switch to a quickly set up rail replacement service with buses, at least the S1 between Wannsee and Oranienburg has been running again on the affected section since Thursday evening – but only on one track every 20 minutes. Lines S2 and S25 were interrupted and divided into two parts, the S26 was shortened. Travelers have to change trains and plan significantly more time than before.
The Federal Agency for Railway Accident Investigation (BEU) released the affected area on Monday around 5 p.m. The wagons of the S-Bahn that had jumped out of the rails with a bogie that remained there were transferred to the Schöneweide plant.
The experts involved in the accident do not rule out that the cause of the derailment is to be found in the infrastructure. Did the distances between the rails still meet the standards? Because of their tight curve radii and gradients, the tracks in the north-south tunnel of the Berlin S-Bahn are particularly stressed. Track renewals are required there at shorter intervals than elsewhere. “We are currently investigating in all directions in order to be able to determine the cause of the event. In addition to the vehicles, the investigation is also focusing on the infrastructure, ”said a spokesman for the BEU.
Not only passengers, but also S-Bahners had wondered why platform 11 in Friedrichstrasse station was occupied by the crashed train for almost five full days. “We wonder why the derailed train with a bogie is still bumbling around there,” it said on Monday morning. “That is failure all along the line if this important stretch is not made accessible again as quickly as possible.”
Why was platform 11 closed for so long?
The time was required to be able to gain all the information, according to the Federal Agency for Railway Accident Investigation. “An accident site is blocked by law until it can be released,” said the spokesman. If a track area is released for regular traffic again, it is possible that important information is lost and the incident can no longer be resolved. That is why the principle applies: care and accuracy over speed, it was said.
“An accident site can be released if all the information required to determine the cause is available. As soon as an accident site is cleared and reopened for normal operation, possible clues for a cause could no longer be reconstructed, ”affirmed the spokesman. “During the course of Monday afternoon, the responsible actors presented the BEU with information that allowed approval. The vehicles can now be sent to a workshop for further vehicle-side inspections. ”At the Schöneweide plant, the train is now being inspected, according to the S-Bahn.
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