Presentation of the final report Why the derailment occurred in the Gotthard tunnel

In August 2023, a freight train derailed in the Gotthard Base Tunnel. According to the final report, the cause was a broken wheel disk.

The cause of the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in August 2023 was a broken wheel disk. The wheel cracks are a systematic problem. This is the conclusion reached by Sust in its final report.

According to the report, material fatigue cracks were found in the so-called LL brake pads. In order to prevent similar incidents in the future, recommendations will be made to the European Safety Agency and the Federal Office of Transport, as stated on Monday in Bern at the presentation of the final report by the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (Sust).

When an SBB train with 30 freight wagons was on its way from Chiasso to Basel on August 10, 2023, part of a wheel disk broke off the eleventh wagon in the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The front part of the freight wagon formation passed the points still in a straight position. The rear part was routed onto a connecting track. This led to the derailment and a collision with the tunnel cross wall. No one was injured.