Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Dresden Tram Collision Injures Seven, Shuts Leipziger Straße for Hours

Police are examining an apparently mis-set switch as a possible cause.

Overview

  • Two new Line 9 NGT DX DD trams collided and derailed shortly before 17:30 near the Altpieschen stop by Ballhaus Watzke on Leipziger Straße.
  • The drivers, aged 60 and 59, were lightly injured along with five passengers, including boys aged 11 and 12, a one-year-old, and women aged 37 and 79, who were treated on an outpatient basis.
  • Initial efforts to roll one tram back failed, so crews used hydraulic jacks and a shifting bridge to re-rail both vehicles by about 21:50 before towing them to the Trachenberge depot.
  • Leipziger Straße remained fully closed until roughly 23:15 as 22 tram-assistance specialists worked the scene and DVB routed detours for lines 4, 9, and 13.
  • Both trams sustained heavy damage with losses estimated at about €100,000, and the traffic accident unit has opened a formal investigation.