Major train crash on GaP Munich line

Oh, wow. Thanks, Nigel.

Line between Oberau and Garmisch will be closed until further notice. DB is providing replacement buses via Kochel (road in Oberau is closed, too). Some pictures here.

Oh goodness, this is awful. Thank you for the information. Thinking of all those involved.

Just on the CNBC news break.

Looks like it was a regional train, a double decker, probably (?) an RE.

They are having to provide SEVs between GaP and Oberau, but according to one account the are routing the SEV through Kochel, which Google Maps says takes 1H45. It looks like the main road between those stations is 2, which is also closed, probably because it runs right next to the crash site and is blocked by rescue equipment. But couldn't they use 23 and back roads around Loisachenauen? There just aren't a lot of roads in that area. I know the route the SEVs are taking from GaP of Kochel; been on it twice. It real scenic but way out of the way. Normally, the trains take 7 minutes going direct, past Loisachenen; by car its like 15 minutes. And, I think that as long as the road is closed to the rescue operation, cars will have to go through Kochel, as well.

This will probably affect people staying in GaP and commuting to the Passion Play.

They are having to provide SEVs between GaP and Oberau, but according to one account the are routing the SEV through Kochel

In the meantime, an SEV has been set up between Garmisch and Oberau. The detour via Kochel was an ad hoc solution. The B2 is still closed because it is needed for the rescue equipment.

thanks for the local news, sla019

The detour via Kochel was an ad hoc solution. The B2 is still closed
because it is needed for the rescue equipment.

I only have a general understanding of the geography of that area, not a detail knowledge of the individual roads, but looking at Google Maps, why couldn't the SEVs and other traffic come up from GaP on the 23, get off on Werdenfelser Str. to go around the crash site, then take the Hauptstrasse to Oberau and get on the 2 north of the Farchant tunnel. That seems preferable to an hour and a half detour via Kochel.

In 2013, we came up with the train from Mittenwald to GaP Hbf, from which we took a bus to Oberammergau. We went right past Ettal, so we must have gone through Oberau. I can't remember going through a tunnel, so we must have been on the Hauptstr. I think we got on the Hauptstr. just before the 2/23 junction.

I expect car travel between Munich and GaP is probably following the same route, which would lead to congestion and delays.

According to the Bahn schedule website, the next bus at 9:40 Sunday morning will take that exact route (no notice of delay), about 15 min from GaP Hbf to Oberau Bhf.

The Bahn schedule website has this advice for rail travel:

We have set up a rail replacement bus service between Oberau and
Garmisch-Partenkirchen for you. Please expect significant travel time
extensions.
We advise against train journeys in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Murnau area that are not absolutely necessary.

They are having to provide SEVs

My last box of Cracker-jacks did not have a decoder ring.... "SEVs"..??

I am guessing the V is "Vehicle," but that is as far as I get, Joe !!

The internet is your friend: SEV stands for Schienenersatzverkehr (German: Rail-Substitution-Traffic; by Bus During Engineering Works)

I did do a search--- Lasers, Indian food and a Rock Band is what I found.... none seemed pertinent to the topic.

Thank you for the info

Sorry, I guess I presumed too much. I know that SLA knew what I meant.

If you encounter on the German Rail Schedule website a connection that should be just rail, say RE and/or RB, and you see it also includes a bus, the detail will show you that part of the travel around construction work will be by SEV. And if you see a station layout, it will often have the Haltestelle for the SEV buses shown.

why couldn't the SEVs and other traffic come up from GaP on the 23, get of on Werdenfelser Str. to go around the crash site

@Lee This route was closed because it was needed for rescue vehicles, especially for transports to the hospital in Garmisch. According to the local newspaper Garmischer Tageblatt (a local edition of the Münchener Merkur), even today Garmisch is difficult to reach by road. Long-distance traffic from Munich is being diverted from the A95 at exit 9 (Sindelsdorf) to the B11 via Kochel to Mittenwald, traffic from Augsburg (B17) is diverted from Schongau in the direction of Füssen; however, access to Oberammergau is possible. The B2 at the accident site is still closed because the derailed carriages are being put there for later removal. SEV seems to run normal.

Latest figures: 5 dead, 40+ injured, 15 of them seriously.

Sadly, I think this train was being used (not exclusively) to bring children home from schools in GaP. A lot of those injuries might be young school children.

Monday morning's (it's almost Sunday midnight in Germany) run of Bus 9606 from GaP - Oberau - Oberammergau-Echelsbacher Brücke shows it running on schedule. One stop is on 2 at Partenkirchen Friedhof, a little south of the accident site. The next stop is at Farchant-Loisachauen Bhf, north of the site, and the direct road, Hauptstr, goes over 2 on a bridge about 200 m north of the site. The bus must be using that bridge, because the schedule shows just 2 minutes between the Friedhof and the Bahnhof. Maybe that road is mostly closed but they are letting the bus use it to run it's normal route?

Goodness.

update in the OP

The THW (Technisches Hilfswerk, a nationwide rescue organization) announced this morning that it will complete the recovery of the three cars that have fallen from the track by this evening. The cars will be cut in two on the spot and then transported away. The first wagon and the locomotive, which are still standing on the rail embankment, will be re-railed and transported away after the track has been repaired (the locomotive is undamaged). But this will take a few more days. So, anyone who is going to Garmisch this week should should be prepared for longer travel times and changing to the bus in Oberau.

Latest figures (source: Bayerischer Rundfunk): 5 dead, 44 injured, 15 of them seriously, 3 still in danger of death.

Hmm, SLA. that's interesting. The pictures of the accident seem to all be taken from the east (Hwy 2). It looks like the car(s) still on the tracks are on the left (south, or GaP side) of the picture, but the reports were that the train was coming out of GaP. Was it a case of the locomotive pushing the cars from the back? I know the Bahn does that all the time, but it never seemed like a good idea, as it leads to a "buckling" effect (try pushing a rope) when there is some resistance on the rails ahead of the locomotive.

I notice that the Bahn schedule website now shows an SEV connection between GaP Hbf and Oberau, with a stop in Farchant. It's takes 17 minutes, so the must be using the same route as RVO 9606, which is still running on schedule. But if you try Munich Hbf to GaP Hbf, it says the connection only goes to Oberau and does not show the SEV in the schedule. I guess they want to discourage people from going Munich to GaP via Oberau, maybe to prevent overloading the SEVs.

If you want to go from Munich to GaP, the Bahn is suggesting a route through Kempten or Buchloe, using the Bahn run Außerfernbahn through the Tirol (Reutte).

Was it a case of the locomotive pushing the cars from the back? I know the Bahn does that all the time, but it never seemed like a good idea

@Lee: Yes, exactly. Pulling towards Garmisch and pushing in direction of Munich is the normal mode in which the remainig (few) loco-driven trains are running. I'm no train expert, just a life-long frequent train traveller, so I don't have an idea whether pushing the train is particularly risky. There is a list of accidents with pushed trains ("Wendezug" in German) on the Internet, but it is not particularly long. And I also wonder whether the Federal Railway Authority would approve the procedure if there were fundamental objections to it. In any case, it is also common practice in Austria and Switzerland. In Germany, such push-pull trains will no longer exist in a few years, but will be replaced by railcars.

But if you try Munich Hbf to GaP Hbf, it says the connection only goes to Oberau and does not show the SEV in the schedule.

In the German version it says (under "weitere Informationen"): Ersatzverkehr mit Bus zwischen Oberau und Garmisch-Partenkirchen eingerichtet. This information could actually be placed more prominently.

I saw that, but usually, when there is an SEV, it is shown on the schedule just as if it is a rail segment, and the rail segments on either side are also shown. In this case, they only show the rail segment from Munich ending in Oberau, as if they don't want you to know you can go farther. I see now that for Munich to GaP, the train has been cancelled, but that there is a substitute train from Munich to Oberau. Then in comments they mention that SEV service has been set up to GaP; no more details.