Railway Disaster - Aug 8, 2008 – Studénka, Czech Republic
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ToRo61
N 49° 42.315 E 018° 03.067
34U E 287388 N 5510034
A train accident of an express train EuroCity 108 Comenius on route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic
Waymark Code: WMCEPP
Location: Moravskoslezský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 08/29/2011
Views: 71
The train EuroCity 108 Comenius was an express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic that struck a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic. The train derailed and eight people were killed while 64 others injured.
The motorway bridge near the Studénka railroad station, was undergoing a repairs that were to last until September 2008. On the 8 August the workers were putting a beam to span between the two supports on the sides of the railroad track. Parts of the beam fell onto the track when the train was 452 meters away, approaching the bridge at 133 km/h. The engineer on the locomotive noticed the iron bridge carcass swaying and immediately engaged the fast brake and escaped from the control cab to the engine room, which is much better protected against impact.
This behavior was later recognized by the Czech Railways inspectors as exactly what engineers should do in this kind of situation. Also it was said that there is very high probability that this conduct saved his life.
The train struck the obstacle within just a few seconds after the brake engagement was only able to slow down to 90 km/h. The locomotive and four carriages derailed after the impact, the carriage coupled as first right after the locomotive sustained the most damage. Six other carriages, among them restaurant carriage, remained on the track. Also three freight vans on another track were derailed. At the moment of the accident, there were approx. 400 people on board the train.
As for the casualties, two Czech men, three Czech women and a Polish woman were killed in the crash, while the seventh victim, a young Ukrainian man, died later in a hospital. Eighth victim, a 21 years old Polish woman, died two months after the disaster.
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