Preliminary report on fatal German rail accident confirms suspicions around sleepers

Germany’s federal rail accident investigation unit BEU earlier on Thursday published its initial findings into the fatal derailment that happened on June 3 last year near the southern German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The report finally confirms the long-held suspicion that defective concrete sleepers were the cause of the accident.

The derailment of a double-decker passenger train resulted in the death of 5 people. Another 16 were injured. German media quickly uncovered that the section where the accident happened was slated to undergo track replacement works later that month. In July 2022, DB then embarked on a precautionary inspection campaign of concrete sleepers similar to those used on the tracks near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At the time, the company said it was not jumping to the conclusion that the sleepers were possibly at fault.

It was not until mid-August that independent testing institutes in Germany said that they had possibly uncovered a manufacturing error in the concrete sleepers identical- in terms of rock mixture – to the ones also used in the tracks near the site of the accident.

The inspection campaign was subsequently widened, and DB back said the resulting financial damage would end up in the hundreds of millions. This sum has probably increased since then. On Wednesday, DB said it would be replacing around 480,000 sleepers this year whereas typically some 80,000 sleepers are renewed each year.

Further reading:

• Even more construction – and disruptions – on German tracks this year due to possibly faulty sleepers
• DB expands the hunt for faulty sleepers, further traffic restrictions likely
• DB faces hundreds of millions in damages following manufacturing error in German sleepers
• DB embarks on replacement campaign for concrete sleepers following June derailment
• Tracks where German train derailed were due for repairs
• Death toll rises to five in German train derailment