Lathen train collision

On 22 September 2006, a Transrapid magnetic levitation (or "maglev") train collided with a maintenance vehicle near Lathen, Germany, killing 23 people and wounding 11.

The Transrapid 08 was still doing trial runs but would sometimes carry passengers along the 31.8-kilometre (19.8 mi) test track to demonstrate the maglev technology.

Approximately half a second and 25 metres later the maglev train hit the maintenance vehicle at a speed of 162 km/h.

Firefighters used turntable ladders and aerial platforms to reach the wreckage 4 metres (13 ft) above ground level.

Immediately after the accident, German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee held an emergency meeting with representatives from Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp, the two companies jointly responsible for the Transrapid.

[4] German Chancellor Angela Merkel left a conference in Berlin in order to attend the scene.

According to IABG, the crew of the maintenance vehicle, which clears the test track of debris and dirt every morning, was supposed to radio the line dispatcher once the work was finished.

[1] In May 2008, a court in Osnabrück concluded that the tragedy was caused by a chain of human errors, including the failure to set an electronic braking system that would have prevented the train from operating while maintenance work was being carried out.

The line dispatcher who radioed the clearance to the maglev train was unable to take part in the trial because of suicide fears.