A freight train accident disrupts traffic between Hanover and Berlin for three weeks: First it takes days before the propane gas can be flared out of the wagons, then the railway line has to be repaired. According to Bahn, everything should now be back to normal.
After a section of the route was closed for more than three weeks, train traffic between Berlin and Hanover is back to schedule, according to Deutsche Bahn. "As announced, all trains have been running on the direct route between Berlin and Hanover since this morning," said a railway spokesman on Sunday morning. "The start of operations took place without any problems."
According to the spokesman, after the collision of two freight trains near Leiferde in Lower Saxony, DB had rebuilt the track bed in the past few days, laid rails and repaired the control and safety technology. On November 17, a train consisting of 25 tank wagons filled with propane gas ran into another train in the Gifhorn district that was stopping at a signal. Four wagons overturned, one train driver was slightly injured.
Firefighters needed days to pump the explosive gas out of the wagons at the scene of the accident and to burn it off with a special device. Since the route was closed during the clearance and repair work, travelers on long-distance and local transport have had to put up with obstacles nationwide. Trains were diverted, there were delays and cancellations.
