Serious accident at level crossing: tracks closed until Wednesday!

Serious accident at level crossing: tracks closed until Wednesday!

A tragic incident overshadowed Sunday, June 17, 2025 in Braunschweig-Bienrode. There was a collision between a train and a car at an unguarded railway crossing. The tracks will be closed until Wednesday in order to carry out the necessary safety work, reports NDR.

The accident occurred when a 27-year-old driver apparently missed the red light signal. Fortunately, despite her minor injuries, she was not left without help; Firefighters had to free her from her vehicle after she became trapped inside. Luckily, around 50 passengers on the train suffered no injuries. The RB47 railway line, which connects Braunschweig with Gifhorn, is affected in both directions, so travelers are being rerouted via alternative stops in Rötgesbüttel and Meine. The trains are now taking a diversion route and buses are taking over the connection to the affected stops.

Signal for necessary changes

Such incidents repeatedly show the dangers at unrestricted level crossings, which are still found in large numbers in Germany. According to that Mirror Deutsche Bahn plans to further reduce the number of these dangerous crossings. This measure is more than necessary: ​​The incident in Braunschweig-Bienrode was the fourth serious accident at this level crossing within three years.

The spokeswoman for the Erixx prayer group has therefore urgently pointed out the need for better security of unrestricted crossings. The demand to install a barrier and improved security technology at Braunschweig-Gliesmarode train station was supported by district mayor Sonja Lerche (SPD). She sees the situation as clearly requiring an emergency in order to avoid such dangerous accidents in the future.

Focus on safety at level crossings

The problem of level crossings must also be viewed from a broader perspective. A look at that Research information system shows that there were a total of 13,624 level crossings in the Deutsche Bahn AG network in Germany in 2022, of which more than 70% are technically secured. Nevertheless, a significant proportion remains non-technically secured, which is often only secured through visual inspections and acoustic warning signals.

The type of security varies and depends on various factors such as the speed of rail traffic and the volume of road traffic. Deutsche Bahn is currently investing around 170 million euros annually in securing level crossings, which shows that the issue of safety is of utmost importance - not only for passengers, but also for drivers.

Although accidents at railway crossings have decreased in recent years, many of them are due to driver misconduct. A comprehensive review of the existing regulations and safety measures is therefore absolutely necessary so that safety for all road users can continue to be guaranteed. A program to eliminate such level intersections was initiated by the federal government in 1980 - and it urgently needs fresh impetus to prevent tragic accidents like the one in Braunschweig.