Railway employee pushed from moving train – arrest warrant rejected
A railway employee falls from a train during a ticket inspection and is critically injured. The court rejects the arrest warrant against the suspect.
Conflict during ticket inspection ends in serious fall
A railway employee fell from a moving train on Friday evening during an altercation and was critically injured. According to swr.de, the incident began on a regional train between Baden-Baden and Karlsruhe at approximately 19:35 during a ticket inspection.
A 36-year-old passenger allegedly reacted with verbal aggression to the inspection. The allegedly intoxicated man then insulted two DB Security employees, including a 26-year-old. A physical altercation followed: the passenger allegedly hit and kicked the security employee repeatedly.
During the struggle, a door of the train was damaged. A gap opened – through the opening, the 26-year-old fell onto the railway track at a speed of approximately 120 kilometres per hour. The train was shortly before Ettlingen, near Karlsruhe.
Rescue following large-scale search
The injured railway employee was found approximately two kilometres south of Ettlingen-Bruchhausen station following a large-scale search. His condition was critical but stable. According to the public prosecutor's office and Karlsruhe police, the 36-year-old acted with massive violence.
The suspect has previous convictions for violent offences. A custodial sentence imposed against him had been suspended on probation. Emergency services arrested the man while still on the train.
Court rejects arrest warrant
Karlsruhe District Court rejected the issue of an arrest warrant against the 36-year-old. The reasoning: the man could not have anticipated that the train door would open. According to the responsible public prosecutor, a custodial sentence was therefore not justified. The suspect remains at liberty.
Karlsruhe public prosecutor's office announced it would review the court's decision. Legal action was not ruled out.
Trade unions criticise security situation
Deutsche Bahn condemned the attack in the strongest terms. A spokesperson stated: "We condemn the attack on a regional train in the strongest possible terms." The company's thoughts were with the injured party.
Manuel Amberger, state chairperson of the Railway and Transport Workers' Union (EVG), described the incident as a sign of escalating danger: "That once again one of our colleagues must fight for his life in hospital following a simple ticket inspection leaves us appalled and furious."
The incident demonstrated that verbal and physical assaults on train staff had reached a "new, life-threatening dimension". GDL chief Mario Reiß told the WDR: "We need decisions from the justice system, we need changes to the law and we need enforcement powers." Colleagues had to go to work daily with increased fear.
Questions about door security
It remains unclear how the train door could have opened at operating speed. SWR railway expert Frieder Kümmerer emphasises: "Even if someone presses against a door with full force, that shouldn't be able to happen."
There have already been similar incidents: roughly a year ago, a train door fell off a train in Mannheim during full travel. In 2010, an ICE lost an 800-kilogramme door whilst travelling. Both cases were investigated and deficiencies were corrected. The Federal Railway Accident Investigation Authority is now also investigating the incident in Ettlingen.
Security measures and their impact
Following the fatal assault on a train attendant in Rhineland-Palatinate in February, Deutsche Bahn increased its security personnel and introduced bodycams. The perpetrator in that case was recently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for assault causing death.
Whether the new measures are effective is questionable. Kümmerer cautions that the measures are still relatively new and need time. A survey conducted by the EVG among its members paints a bleak picture: according to the survey, one in three people is considering leaving the profession for safety reasons.
Kümmerer reports of railway employees who wear false names on their name badges – out of fear of retaliation from passengers without valid tickets. According to his account, the sense of insecurity among staff is "very, very high".
Source: BILD