What we know about the S-Bahn accident near Munich - and what we don't

Created: 02/15/2022Updated: 02/15/2022 05:27

By: Julia Volkenand

Numerous people were injured in a train accident near Schäftlarn on Monday afternoon.

A man lost his life.

These facts are known so far.

• On Monday (February 14), at around 4:35 p.m., two S-Bahn trains collided on the S7 route near Schäftlarn.

• According to the police, 14 people were injured in the accident and one person was killed (as of February 14, 8 p.m.).

• There had already been problems on the railway line beforehand.

• The federal police are investigating the cause of the accident, which is not yet known.

Update from February 14, 9:39 p.m .:

The accident brings back bad memories.

It was not until the beginning of August that a German and a Czech train collided on a single-track route in the Czech Republic.

Three people died at the time, ten were seriously or life-threateningly injured.

About two weeks later, a near-collision not far from the current scene of the accident: According to media reports, two S-Bahn trains had run into each other near Icking,* but the train drivers were able to brake in time.

Numerous people were injured in a train accident near Schäftlarn.

© Matthias Balk/dpa

And then there was the train accident in Bad Aibling on February 9, 2016. Twelve people died and 89 were injured.

Due to human error, two trains on the Bavarian Oberlandbahn crashed into each other.

A dispatcher had played with the mobile phone and had distracted it from giving false signals.

He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and was released two-thirds of the time.

First report from February 14, 9:03 p.m

.: On Monday afternoon (February 14) there was a train accident on the S7 Munich - Wolfratshausen railway line *.

Two S-Bahn trains collided there for unknown reasons.

At around 4:35 p.m., the two trains collided in the area of ​​the Ebenhausen-Schäftlarn S-Bahn station.

A train was levered off the tracks, but remained upright.

Eyewitnesses report that the train previously showed unusual driving behavior and kept stopping.

Railway accident near Schäftlarn: One dead and 14 injured

The police have since released more information about the accident.

The number of injured is continuously updated, most recently there was talk of around 14 injured people.

One person also lost his life.

The S-Bahn line and the area around the accident site are currently closed*, for how long is currently not certain.

It is currently necessary to examine the train occupants.

At the time of the accident there were around 95 passengers on the trains.

Some of the injured were taken to the Schäftlarn monastery.*

Train collision near Schäftlarn: Problems on the route in advance

So far, no statement has been made about the cause of the accident; it will now be the task of the public prosecutor's office and the state agency for railway accident investigations to determine this.

What is certain, however, is that there have been repeated disturbances at level crossings on the route during the day.

In such cases, the signals are neutralized, the train drivers receive instructions from the dispatcher and drive "on command".

It is conceivable that there were misunderstandings during the vote.

The federal police, as well as about 100 police officers, helicopters and 47 fire engines were and are in action.

A total of 200 emergency services are on site.