Following a fire in a switch box near Lehrte, close to Hanover, there are continuing delays and train cancellations on the railway line to Berlin. According to Deutsche Bahn on Sunday afternoon, train traffic is expected to remain disrupted until at least Monday afternoon. The cause of the fire is still unclear, and the state police have taken over the investigation.
The box has been dismantled, and traces have been secured, a police spokeswoman said. On its website, Deutsche Bahn described the incident as “vandalism damage to the line.” ICE and Intercity trains traveling from Hanover toward Berlin must be rerouted and are delayed by around 25 minutes.
From Berlin toward Hanover, trains were running largely on schedule, according to a railway spokesman. However, some trains in both directions are being cancelled, the company said. Intercity trains between Hanover and Magdeburg are also being rerouted in part and delayed by around 25 minutes. After the fire late Friday evening, delays and cancellations had already occurred on Saturday. On Sunday, Deutsche Bahn stated that it was working “under high pressure to eliminate the disruption.”
Additionally, a car accident in Hanover on Saturday evening temporarily caused further disturbances in rail traffic. According to the fire department, a car overturned on a bridge over the tracks and crashed into a concrete bollard. The bollard was thrown onto the rail system and damaged an overhead line.
The defective overhead line struck a passing, fully occupied ICE train, as police reported, and damaged it. At the time of the accident, there were around 900 passengers on board, but no one was injured. Another train traveling behind it also had to stop, according to the fire department. The trains had to be evacuated. The 19-year-old driver of the car remained uninjured but was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons. His two passengers fled the scene, police said.
The Hanover traffic accident service began investigations. A breathalyzer test for the 19-year-old showed a level of more than one per mille, according to the report. His driver’s license was confiscated. Police initiated an investigation for endangering road traffic through alcohol consumption and for dangerous interference with rail traffic. They appealed for witnesses. The total damage is estimated at €120,000.
In Hanover itself, long-distance rail traffic was no longer disrupted by Sunday's accident. A railway spokesman said that long-distance trains were using the S-Bahn tracks there. The overhead line will be repaired.
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