Forst Zinna rail disaster

The Forst Zinna rail disaster occurred 19 January 1988 in Forst Zinna, East Germany. It was the result of a collision between a Soviet T-64A and an express train on the Berlin–Halle railway.[1] 6 were killed, 33 injured. It was one of the worst train accidents in the history of the GDR.[2] At Forst Zinna, the Soviet military often used this area for tank training.[3]

Forst Zinna rail disaster
Details
Date	19 January 1988 17:50
Location	Forst Zinna
Country	East Germany
Operator	Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany)
Service	Leipzig-Stralsund
Incident type	Collision with a T-64 tank
Statistics
Trains	1
Passengers	450
Deaths	6
Injured	33

Disaster

The train involved in the accident was a DR Class 211 006 pulling 12 passenger cars and a restaurant car. The other vehicle involved was a T-64A tank. The driver of the T-64A was 19 years old and undergoing training by a 20 year old instructor. This was the first time driving the tank, and it was dark outside.[4] The instructor called the trainee to turn right, however, this was not heard by the driver, who did not realise they were heading towards the busy rail line. When the instructor's emergency engine shutdown switch finally activated, the tank became stuck on the rail line.[4] As the crew heard the sound of an oncoming train, they abandoned the tank. Seconds later, the train collided with the tank at 110km/h. The collision instantly killed both drivers of the train, pushing the tank 130 meters forward.

Aftermath

While the soldiers were initially arrested by the Kriminalpolizei, and quickly questioned, an unprecedented event at that time, potentially as a result of disagreements between the policies of Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev. The police report directly blamed the Soviets, concluding that the train driver would not have been able to stop the train in time.[3] However, the soldiers were nonetheless tried by a military tribunal of the Red Army and it was rumoured that the two had been executed.[4][3]

This area would later have dragon's teeth added to the areas near the rail track to prevent further incidents of tanks crossing onto the rail line.

See also

• Lists of rail accidents

References

1. 19. Januar 1988 - Unfall Forst-Zinna
2. "Rats n Ruins - Forst Zinna". Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
3. "The Forst Zinna Railway Disaster". Warships, Warplanes and Other Stuff As Well. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
4. "Und dann stand der Panzer auf dem Gleis". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-09-12.

External links

• Photos of disaster