Germany train crash trial begins

Four years after Germany’s worst ever train crash killed 101 people, the trial of three engineers began today.

The train was travelling at about 125 mph along the Hamburg to Hanover line on June 8, 1998, when authorities believe a wheel broke. It then smashed into a bridge near the northern town of Eschede.

Prosecutors in Celle accuse the three men of allowing the high speed InterCityExpress train to be fitted with wheels that were not manufactured to high enough standards.

Lawyers for the men, two former Deutsche Bahn employees who were in charge of wheel safety at the national railway and the manager of a firm that manufactures train wheels, have said the crash was a tragic accident – but not a criminal offence.

Each of the men, whose names were not released, faces 101 counts of manslaughter and 105 counts of causing bodily harm.

The accident prompted a change to a different type of wheel for the ICE trains.