After a devastating collision between two freight trains at Fürnitz station in Carinthia last Friday, in which some 80,000 liters of kerosene leaked, the investigation is in full swing. It is suspected that a train driver did not respond to a stop signal.
The federal safety investigation agency must find out how the train accident could have happened. According to media reports, it is now clear that the driver – a 36-year-old German – would have driven the freight train over a red traffic light. ÖBB press spokesman Herbert Hofer is not yet willing or able to confirm this: “This is only the current status of the investigation – the cause is not yet 100% known,” says Hofer.
Security systems not activated?
It is not yet entirely clear why the train did not brake automatically. If a stop signal is red and the train does not brake, several safety systems are activated. To answer these and other questions, the public prosecutor’s office has appointed an expert, because both data must be evaluated and witnesses must be heard.
The clean-up work in Fürnitz is still ongoing: “The locomotive has to be hoisted in the next few days,” says Hofer. The kerosene, with which a total of five wagons were loaded, not only damaged the tracks, but also the soil around the accident site had to be removed. There will be a rail replacement service.
Source: Krone
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