Bruno R. († 54) radioed the engine driver three times in vain

The case shook Switzerland: train chief Bruno R. († 54) will be trapped in a door in Baden AG in August 2019 and dragged to death. The Swiss security investigation agency (SUST) published its final report on the drama on Tuesday.

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What was previously unknown: At the time of the accident, four people were standing on platform 2 in Baden. When the doors of the train closed, they noticed nothing special at first, but then heard cries for help and saw that Bruno R. was pinched in the door with his left arm. “He was holding a cell phone in his right hand,” writes SUST in its final report. A witness alerted the police.

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“He only heard noise”

The investigators also interviewed the train driver during the investigation. The driver received the driving license by SMS on the service cell phone and on the cab radio. Bruno R. had sent this permit. The driver drove off because all of the door control lamps in his driver’s cab had gone out due to the defective pinch protection.

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SUST writes: “A short time later, three calls were received on the cab radio. When the driver took off the microtel, he only heard noise. » Bruno R. apparently tried unsuccessfully to reach the driver. Shortly before Killwangen-Spreitenbach AG, the train driver received a call from the dispatcher, who asked him to stop to check the train.

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There, however, the train attendant could not find anything special – Bruno R. was already lifeless between Wettingen and Killwangen «at train km 19,986», as the final report says.

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Blocked limit switch was Bruno R.’s undoing

In its final report, SUST found that the accident was due to door 4 being incorrectly closed due to the blocked limit switch “Pb 7” immediately after the train command issued the closing command. And because the pinch protection did not work, Bruno R. was pinched. The departure process also contributed to the accident. The train manager has to issue the departure permit before he is on the train.

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Sust sees the residual risk in train stations where the departure permit for shuttle train compositions with the unit wagon IV is still issued using a dispatch box. In these stations, the train manager issues a departure permit before boarding the train and closing his door.

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According to its own statements, SBB assessed this residual risk when introducing the new handling process, which was adjusted from the end of September 2019. With the new door leaf control switch, an additional technical safety barrier will be installed so that the doors can be reliably reported to the locomotive staff as closed, the SBB stated in a media release. (neo / SDA)

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