Defunct brake line caused 777-tonne cargo train smash
A faulty brake conduit is to blame for a dramatic train crash in Vorarlberg, according to an expert commissions report.Rene Zumtobel, a spokesman for Federal Railways (ÖBB), said today (Fri) an investigation showed that the car-transporting cargo trains brake line had been defunct. He added that experts ruled out human error.Around half of the 320 cars the 777-tonne train was carrying had been demolished when it derailed near the town of Braz on Tuesday. No one apart from the driver who suffered light injuries was hurt.Vorarlberg Peoples Party (ÖVP) Governor Herbert Sausgruber claimed this was a “small miracle” since some wagons came to a standstill only a few three metres from the front of a house.The train started its journey in Curtici, Romania, and was bound for Valenton near Paris, France.Zumtobel said ÖBB officials will meet insurance experts and representatives of the firm which owned the transported cars to clarify who has to pay for the multi-million Euro damage.