Dahlerau Train Disaster - Timeline of Events

Timeline of Events

On the evening of May 27, 1971, shortly after 21:00, a train made up of a Class VT 95 railbuses of the Deutsche Bundesbahn was running as special service Eto 42227 (units 795 375 + 995 325) on the single-track line between Wuppertal-Oberbarmen and Radevormwald, the Wupper Valley Railway (de). The train was occupied by senior year pupils of a Radevormwald middle school, their teachers and accompanying railway staff, on the return journey from a class outing in Bremen. The service was about 30 minutes delayed and travelling between Wuppertal-Beyenburg and Dahlerau. A regular local freight train, Ng 16856 (pulled by 212 030, a DB Class V 100 engine) and heading from Radevormwald to Wuppertal, was supposed to do an unscheduled stop at Dahlerau station to let the delayed special service pass. In normal operation, the freight train would not wait at Dahlerau.

The freight train first came to a halt at the entrance signal as normal, then pulled into the station, expecting the dispatcher's instructions. The dispatcher normally stepped onto the platform and showed the driver a green light, giving the freight train permission to proceed. However, as the freight train was supposed to stop and wait for the special service still on the line, a red light should be shown. It is unclear what happened exactly, but the train did not stop at the station as supposed to, and departed toward Wuppertal. It is suspected that the train trailed the points already set for the passenger train, as the points' seal, which ruptures in such an event, was later found to be missing. The driver later claimed that the train dispatcher had signalled him with a green light using his hand lamp. About 800 metres (2,600 ft) north of the station, behind a curve, both trains collided. The motor coach of the two-unit special train was compacted to one third of its length by the freight train locomotive, which was five times as heavy and 20 centimetres (7.9 in) higher than the railbus.

The dispatcher at Dahlerau, who tried to hold back the departing locomotive by running along the passing train and giving emergency signals, but failed to get the driver's attention, tried to reach the dispatcher in Wuppertal-Beyenburg by telephone to hold back the passenger train. However, the train had already departed from Beyenburg, and there was no way for the dispatcher to reach either the freight train or the railbus by radio, as the station and trains did not have the necessary equipment. The dispatcher, faced with the now inevitable crash, phoned emergency services, informing them of the accident about to happen. Ambulances, firefighters and police were promptly ordered from Radevormwald, Wuppertal and Solingen. The rescue effort was hindered by the inaccessibility of the accident site on a hillside and by parents who had waited for the train at Radevormwald station and had now come to search for their children, as well as onlookers who were attracted by the rescue effort. Because of the quick rescue and medical treatment, 25 people survived despite severe injuries. 41 pupils, two teachers, a mother and two railway staff died. A single pupil was the only person not injured at all.

A crisis squad was established at the Radevormwald town hall. Due to the high body count, the dead were laid out in the Bredderstraße gymnasium. Some of the funeral homes that were asked to supply coffins at night time first thought they were receiving prank calls due to the supposed improbability of such a severe accident.