Bad Aibling rail accident
ET 355, the westbound train, photographed in 2014
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 Location within Germany
Location within Germany
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| Date | 9 February 2016 |
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| Time | 06:47 CET (05:47 UTC) |
| Location | Bad Aibling, Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
| Rail line | DB Netze Mangfall Valley Railway |
| Operator | Bayerische Oberlandbahn "Meridian" |
| Type of incident | Head-on collision |
| Cause | Signalman's error |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Passengers | ±150 |
| Deaths | 12 |
| Injuries | 85 |
| Damage | 200 m (650 ft) track |
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On 9 February 2016, two Meridian-branded passenger trains were involved in a head-on collision at Bad Aibling in southeastern Germany. Of approximately 150 people on board the two trains, 12 people died and 85 others were injured, including 24 seriously.
Two months after the accident, investigators announced that it had been caused by a dispatcher who gave incorrect orders to the two trains while distracted by a game he was playing on his mobile phone. The distraction further compounded his error when, realizing it, he tried to send emergency codes to the trains but entered the wrong combination into his computer.
The accident occurred just after 06:47 CET (05:47 UTC) on the single-track Mangfall Valley Railway (German: Mangfalltalbahn) on a curve between the stations of Kolbermoor and Bad Aibling-Kurpark close to the Bad Aibling sewage works in Bavaria. As of 11 February 2016[update], a total of 11 people had died, including several railway employees. In total 85 people were injured; 24 injured seriously and 61 injured less seriously.
The two trains were Stadler FLIRT3 multiple-units, operated under the Meridian brand by the Bayerische Oberlandbahn (BOB), a subsidiary of Transdev Germany. The eastbound train was a six-car unit with 333 seats (ET 325), scheduled to run from Munich to Rosenheim, while the westbound train was a three-car unit with 158 seats (ET 355), scheduled to run from Rosenheim to Holzkirchen. There were more than 150 passengers on board the two trains, considerably fewer than usual because of Carnival Holidays. The trains were equipped with a total of three train event recorders. The line and both trains were equipped with the Punktförmige Zugbeeinflussung (PZB) train protection system, which was designed to reinforce line-side signalling and prevent drivers from accidentally passing signals at danger.
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