After the incident in Cologne: ICE brand calls S-21 critics onto the scene – Stuttgart
A fire like the recent one at Cologne Airport station would have fatal consequences in Stuttgart, say opponents of the S-21. The railway refers to evidence that has already been provided.
Two incidents with ICE trains in the past few days, in which the vehicles caught fire or at least smoked heavily, are the reason for opponents of Stuttgart 21 to renew their criticism of fire protection in the new railway junction, but also on the Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line .
S-21 critics see parallels to Stuttgart
On Thursday last week, an ICE caught fire at the train station at Cologne/Bonn Airport. The station is located in a four kilometer long tunnel. The passengers could disembark at the platform. One person suffered smoke inhalation during the firefighting operation. This incident, as well as an ICE train whose brakes smoked heavily a few days ago at Nuremberg Central Station, is “not a good omen for the new Wendlingen-Ulm line, which is scheduled to open on December 11,” explains physicist Christoph Engelhardt, who has been working for many years Years of criticism of the Stuttgart–Ulm railway project.
Engelhardt points out that the two most recently affected trains had previously been on “a steep new line”. This criterion also applies to the route from Wendlingen to Ulm. “In the 30-kilometer tunnel section there, there are even longer climbs. A comparable fire would have devastating consequences there,” predicts Engelhardt.
In the case of the railway, it is pointed out that the Federal Railway Authority “as the competent authority has checked and approved the fire protection concept for the future Stuttgart main station and the escape and rescue concept for the incoming tunnel,” explains a railway spokesman. Appropriate documentation would have to be “submitted in a verified form for the commissioning approval that is still outstanding for the Stuttgart railway junction. It’s a routine process.” The tunnels “meet all stringent safety requirements.” The railway works on “the basis of the recognized rules of technology, including legal European and national principles as well as all regulations and specifications of the authorities”.