Trash bin fires prompt sudden halt of two ICE trains.
In the morning twice, emergency services were called to two trains, Identified as ICEs, that had to halt due to smoke building up. luckily, no mechanical problems were involved this time. The scheduled journey had to be pushed back.
The passengers onboard both trains had to endure waiting, as fires erupted on the tracks. An ICE heading towards Hamburg in Thuringia was forced to stop due to a toilet malfunction. The fire department spokesperson from the Federal Police clarified that they managed to put out a small fire that started in a waste bin with bare hands. No injuries were sustained. A cigarette believed to be still burning in the trash can was suspected to be the origin of the fire.
Shortly before 4:00 AM, the ICE 608 had to halt at an abandoned train station in Sonneberg. The affected carriage had to be emptied, but the passengers were not asked to disembark the train, according to the police and Deutsche Bahn. The train finally resumed its journey with around 130 minutes of delay.
Not too far off, a similar occurrence happened: The ICE 501, en route from Berlin to Munich, was redirected to a closed railway station in Unterleiterbach, part of the Bamberg county. Two waste bins inside a train bathroom caught fire, as per the Federal Police. The fire department successfully put out the fire. The affected wagon had to be cleared.
As per the Federal Police, there were no initial reports of injuries. The train was expected to carry on its journey after conducting an examination by the railway, as suggested by the Bahn. The train initially showed a delay of approximately 90 minutes on the Bahn website due to a firefighting operation. Despite the general ban on smoking on the train, people keep lighting cigarettes in the toilets. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bahn emphasized this fact.
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In response to the incident, German Railways issued a warning to passengers about the danger of smoking in train toilets, stressing the potential for fires. Fortunately, the International fire department was able to quickly extinguish another waste bin fire on an ICE train, preventing a larger disruption to services.
