An ICE carrying around 550 people rammed a regional train between Hamburg and Bremen. There were no injuries in the accident on Wednesday afternoon, the federal police announced. The two trains were so badly damaged by the incident in Lauenbrück that they were no longer roadworthy. Rail traffic on the route was stopped.
According to the information, the unoccupied regional train was standing on a switch when the ICE hit it at 50 kilometers per hour – despite braking quickly. The express train on the way from Hamburg to Munich had previously passed a different switch at around 80 kilometers per hour.
After the accident, the train passengers were guided on foot to Lauenbrück train station. According to a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn, an ICE train from Bremen was deployed in the evening to pick up the passengers stranded in Lauenbrück. According to the information, the train is still traveling to Stuttgart despite the nationwide train driver warning strike that began on Wednesday evening.
The destroyed front sections of the two trains could be seen in pictures. The railway line was initially completely closed in the area. The regional train operator Metronom set up a replacement bus service for its passengers as well as a hotel train for those waiting at Tostedt station, as the company announced on Wednesday evening. A track at the accident site has been accessible again since late evening – albeit at a greatly reduced speed. According to information, one track will probably be closed until Thursday. The exact cause of the accident was initially not known.
