Mainz, Germany, Oct 15, (dpa/GNA) – A regional express train with nearly 200 passengers, derailed in the evening in the German region of Saarland on open tracks, after hitting a boulder.
The driver sustained grazes, but no other injuries were reported, according to the Federal Police in the regional capital Saarbrücken.
The passengers were to be evacuated onto a replacement train on the adjacent track. The boulder had a diameter of around 1 metre, said a police spokeswoman.
The passengers had “a stroke of luck,” said the spokeswoman, as the train slid to the left towards the neighbouring track rather than to the right towards a slope.
The train numbered RE 3 was travelling in the direction of Frankfurt when the incident occurred between Namborn and Türkismühle.
Why the boulder, along with earth and debris, slid from a slope near the tracks was initially unclear. The railway line was closed.
GNA