Latest Report: Fatal train accident in Germany in 2022 was preventable
A train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in June 2022 that left five people dead and 72 injured was avoidable, according to an internal Deutsche Bahn report.
01.09.2025, 15:29
SDA
The responsibility for the accident in the Bavarian town lies with the operational staff, but also with the responsible board members of the then rail subsidiary DB Netz, according to the final report by a law firm commissioned by Deutsche Bahn to conduct an internal investigation into the accident. The report is available as an abridged version to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
On June 3, 2022, the last day of school before the Whitsun vacations, a regional train derailed near Garmisch-Partenkirchen at around midday. Three of the wagons came completely off the track, slid down the embankment and came to rest on the roof. Four women and a 13-year-old boy died. 78 people were injured, 16 of them seriously.
Deutsche Bahn wants to take legal action against the board
The final report states that the accident "was the direct result of the conduct of the operating staff working on site, which was in breach of the rules and duties". According to the report, the cause of the train accident was defective concrete sleepers. Due to chemical reactions inside the reinforced concrete core, the sleepers were no longer strong enough.
At the same time, the railroad subsidiary responsible at the time, DB Netz, reacted inadequately to extensive findings on defective concrete sleepers and thus made the accident possible. "This includes members of the Management Board responsible at the time." DB Netz no longer exists. A new company, DB InfraGo, is now responsible for the infrastructure.
Deutsche Bahn has announced that it will take legal action against the former members of the Management Board and make claims for compensation. Deutsche Bahn also intends to take various measures to ensure that such an accident does not happen again. Firstly, all potentially risky sleepers are to be replaced. The majority of these, namely two million concrete sleepers, have already been replaced. In addition, the railroad has already carried out extensive training and awareness-raising measures.
Report confirms earlier investigations
At the beginning of June, the Federal Railway Accident Investigation Bureau (BEU) published its final report, which was more than 100 pages long. According to the report, among other things, a report from a railcar driver about a problem at the subsequent accident site had not been passed on.
On the evening before the accident, a train driver had contacted the train dispatcher and reported irregularities at the subsequent accident site. He spoke of a "curve superelevation" and that there was a "swerve". The dispatcher had not passed on this report. After that, trains passed the spot without any further reports.
According to the report, passing on the message might have led to a different course of events. However, this is not classified as directly relevant to the accident due to other influences. The BEU expressly did not deal with possible omissions by individual employees.
In its two interim reports, the BEU had already come to the conclusion that dilapidated sleepers were the main cause of the accident. This could have been prevented with an adapted procedure for detecting damage, it said. This was because internal cracks could not be detected by visual inspection from the outside alone.
Criminal trial in October
In October, the trial against two railroad employees will begin at the Munich Regional Court. The Munich II public prosecutor's office accuses them of negligently causing the deaths and injuries of the victims. A verdict is expected in February next year. Originally, three employees were charged, but one case was dropped.
