Garmisch-Partenkirchen train collision

The first train was RegionalExpress number 3612, pulled by ÖBB 1044 235, a scheduled train running from Innsbruck HBF to Munich HBF, which was stopping at Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway station for 10 minutes. The second train was the famous "Glass Train" (DB Class 491 001), a historical tourist train that was running as a special train on that day on the Mittenwald Line, on the reversed route of the RegioExpress. At Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the 2 trains would cross each other (the line is single-tracked at the entrance from all 4 ends into the railway stations, from the Mittenwald Railway, from the Garmisch Railway, the Aussenfern Railway and the Zugspitze Railway), hence the 10 minute wait of the RE3612, and then they would both depart for their destinations.

The 1044 was made from a very robust structure, ensuing that an impact at lower speeds would only do minor damage to the locomotive (such as dents, scratches, etc.). The 491, however, had a very weak structure that was like this because of the panoramic windows. This panoramic experience was at the cost of safety in train crashes. The age of both trains also differed, 1044 235 being completed at the SGP workshops in 1992 and 491 001 having been in service since 1935 (Waggonfabrik Fuchs).

The guard of the RE train had tucked inside the building of the station to get a cup of coffee. However the station staff had just ran out of coffee, and so he had to wait until the coffee was ready, going through the coffee machine. Whilst he was awaiting, a colleague informed him he had to depart, at the surprise of the guard. The guard then ran back into the train, whistled for departure, and automatically closed the doors. The station signal for the track where the RE train was standing was obstructed, however, by the train and the platform roof. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were light snowfall at temperatures around zero degrees.

The driver heard the whistle, and then started accelerating whilst looking back at the train and the station, quickly picking up speed due to the acceleration force of the locomotive. The train driver forgot about the signal, which was indicating a Hp0 (Stop), to allow the Glass Train to arrive into the station. When the RE driver was attempting to get into the position in the drivers' seat, he noticed the other train just a few meters away. Despite applying an emergency brake, the train could not stop, and hit the Glass Train at 47 km/h, whilst the Glass Train itself was going at 37 km/h.

A person died aboard the Glass Train, and another 27 were injured, due to the flying glass shards from the panoramic windows, and another 14 were injured aboard the RE train. The front end of the Glass Train was crushed to the point that it was pushed back into the train, and the motor bogie was so damaged that it was completely irreparable, meaning that the trainset will not be able to drive ever again, unless a new motor bogie is reconstructed, however at a high unaffordable price. The train was towed back to Nürnberg in January 1996, and since 2005 it is stabled at Bahnpark Augsburg. It is stored in the locomotive shed with the destroyed front end being stored in the shed itself. The train will be likely to be not repaired anytime soon, due to the high repair costs.

1144 235, the other locomotive involved in the accident, seen in 2017, still in service

The 1044 suffered slight damage and was quickly repaired and put back into service. Since 2002 it was modified into a Class 1144 locomotive, having modernized equipments aboard the train. It still runs as of August 2018. The locomotive driver of the regional express was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment on probation and a fine of 9,000 DM and the guard to a fine of 6,000 DM.

• Erich Preuß: Eisenbahnunfälle bei der Deutschen Bahn. Ursachen – Hintergründe – Konsequenzen. Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-613-71229-6, S. 89–93.