After the train accident near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the public prosecutor’s office in Munich II expanded the investigation to include a fourth person.
This means that four Deutsche Bahn employees are now being investigated on suspicion of negligent homicide, a spokesman for the prosecution said on Friday the German Press Agency. The fourth accused is a dispatcher. This means that two dispatchers are now being targeted by the investigators.
The regional train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich derailed on June 3rd. Four women and a 14-year-old from the region died. 16 people were seriously injured, about 50 slightly.
The preliminary investigation does not mean that the accused are actually partly to blame and that charges will be brought. The prosecution explained that the proceedings could also be terminated. The route has largely been released for repairs, only a section is still being appraised.
Investigations will take months
A special “train” commission continues to work at full speed to clarify the cause of the accident. “The Soko will work for some time,” said the spokesman for the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria South, Stefan Sunday. It will take “months rather than weeks” for the investigation to be completed.
Numerous witnesses could be heard. “It’s a very large number of people who need to be questioned and questioned,” said Sunday. “We want to speak to everyone who was on the train and we also want to speak to many other people who can help us who are connected to the train.”
The Federal Bureau for Railway Accident Investigation (BEU) is involved in the investigations. A few weeks ago, they announced that the focus of the investigation was on the vehicles and the infrastructure. According to experts, there is much to suggest that problems on the tracks were at least partly responsible for the accident.
Two months after the accident, there are still no trains on the route. It is unclear when operations can start again. The railway has not made any statements about this so far. Around the accident site, 700 meters of rails and 500 sleepers have to be replaced. In addition, new overhead lines are required. Three masts also have to be replaced, some of which were knocked over by falling wagons and now need new concrete foundations.
