Overview
- A large-scale exercise in the Sandberg tunnel on Saturday, August 8, simulated a burning ICE with about 100 passengers and involved more than 250 emergency personnel.
- First rescue teams did not reach the tunnel until roughly two hours and seven minutes after the simulated alarm, far exceeding the typical 10–25 minute response expectation.
- Investigations found major alarm and communication breakdowns, including that initial notifications were sent by fax, a technical fault in the regional control center, and competing real emergencies that delayed prioritization.
- Operational problems also slowed access at the scene because some train doors could not be opened from the outside, and the Ilm-Kreis — the exercise organizer — now faces state-led reviews and demands for concrete fixes.
- Officials and experts say the exercise shows the need to modernize alarm chains, run joint training and adopt unified command tools for tunnel incidents, with follow-up investigations and reforms under way.