12/29/2018 Marşandiz train collision - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 39°56′03″N 32°46′42″E

Marşandiz train collision

On 13 December 2018, a high-speed passenger train and a locomotive
Marşandiz train collision
collided near Yenimahalle in Ankara Province, Turkey. Three cars
(carriages/coaches) of the passenger train derailed in the collision.
Three railroad engineers and five passengers were killed at the scene,
and 84 people were injured. Another injured passenger later died, and
34 passengers, including two in critical condition, were treated in
several hospitals.

A uTCDD HT80000 high-speed electric

Contents multiple unit, the same class as the train
Accident involved in the accident
Aftermath
Wreckage removal and line recovery
Controversy
Investigation and arrests
See also
References

Accident
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
The Ankara–Konya high-
Date 13 December 2018
speed train departed from
Time 06:34 local time (03:34
the Ankara high-speed
UTC)
railway station (Turkish:
Ankara YHT Garı) with 206 Location Near Marşandiz railway
passengers on board at station, Yenimahalle,
06:30 local time (03:30 Ankara Province
UTC) on 13 December Coordinates 39°56′03″N 32°46′42″E
2018.[1] About four minutes
TCDD E68000-class locomotive 68 Country Turkey
later, a head-on collision
041 (unit 68 017 pictured) was Rail line Istanbul–Ankara railway
involved in the accident. occurred when the train
collided with a locomotive Operator TCDD Taşımacılık
returning from rail Service High-speed train
inspection duty, right before the Marşandiz railway station in the
Route inspection service
Yenimahalle district of Ankara Province. The high-speed train was
traveling towards Konya Station at a line speed of about 80–90 km/h
Type of Head-on collision
(50–56 mph). Three of its cars derailed, and a footbridge over the
incident
railway line collapsed onto two other cars.[1][2] Eight people, including Cause Under investigation
three railroad engineers, were killed onsite.[1][3] A German citizen was Statistics
among the victims.[4] 48 injuries were reported in the immediate
Trains 2
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12/29/2018 Marşandiz train collision - Wikipedia

aftermath of the incident, though the total was later updated to 84.[1][3] Passengers 206
The injured passengers, three of them in critical condition, were rushed Crew 7
to several hospitals in Ankara. One injured passenger died afterwards.[5]
Deaths 9
Published photographs show that a TCDD E68000-class locomotive Injuries 84
(unit number 68 041) and a TCDD HT80000 high-speed electric
Damage Electric locomotive
multiple unit were involved in the accident.[6]
unusable, high-speed
trainset at least partly scrap,
Aftermath pedestrian crossing
destroyed by high-speed
train.
Wreckage removal and line recovery
More than 40 ambulances, 20 fire trucks, police, National Medical Rescue teams, and fire and rescue teams rushed to the
scene of the accident.[1][5]

Heavy cranes for wreckage removal arrived at the accident site at 16:00 local time (13:00 UTC), and teams of firefighters
and railroad workers continued with cutting and removal work into the night despite heavy snowfall.[7] It took three days
to remove the wreckage, repair the track, and repair the railway electrification system, after which the line was
reopened.[8]

Controversy
Controversy arose when the chairman of the United Transportation Union claimed that "the railway line ... was opened to
high-speed rail traffic before the needed train protection system (Turkish: Tren Denetim Sistemi, TDS) was installed". The
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure stated to the press that "such a signalization system is not a sine qua non
installation for railway transportation".[9][10]

Investigation and arrests

The Chief Prosecutor of Ankara launched an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the accident,[5] and appointed his
assistant and three more prosecutors to the case.[11] A railway inspector, a train dispatcher and a switchman, who were
responsible for directing the trains,[11] were detained on suspicion of negligence.[12][13] Records were obtained for
technical analysis as evidence, being the digital records from the trains and the railway station, and radio communication
records between the officials on duty. Surveillance camera footage covering the accident became public.[11]

It appeared that the locomotive was on its assigned track. The high-speed train was wrongly directed to the same track,
causing the head-on collision.[11]

The prosecutors completed the initial investigation by taking the statements of the three detained railway personnel. The
dispatcher stated that he "ordered the switchman to put the high-speed train on track H1 as the locomotive was on track
H2". He added that "the switchman did not confirm his action of rail switching. In addition, he instructed the locomotive's
engineer to drive slowly". He said that "the engineer of the high-speed train, however, did not report it as running on track
H2, because normally he had to know that he had to pass nine railroad switches in order to go over to the track H1 from
the track #1". He concluded that "the accident occurred due to lack of communication". The switchman gave the statement
that "he received the order, and set then the electric railroad switch by pressing the related button on the board. However,
he could not remember whether he had confirmed his switching action. He added that "he did not receive any training in

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handling of the board, which went in use four days prior to control the electric railroad switch". He accused his superiors
as "even though they knew that he was not trained, he was assigned to night shift". The prosecutor sent the accused
personnel to the criminal court on duty, which ruled their arrest.[14]

See also
List of rail accidents in Turkey
Rail transport in Turkey
2018 in Turkey
2018 in rail transport

References
1. "Ankara'da Yüksek Hızlı Tren kazası: 9 kişi hayatını kaybetti, 84 kişi yaralandı" (https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/ankarad
a-yuksek-hizli-tren-kazasi-9-kisi-hayatini-kaybetti-84-kisi-yaralandi,PKpEjoY9hEWWUEZCXuOn-Q). NTV (in Turkish).
13 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
2. "Turkey train crash: At least nine dead in Ankara" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46549288). BBC News
Online. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
3. "Ankara'da Yüksek Hızlı Tren kazası: 7 kişi hayatını kaybetti, 46 yaralı va" (http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/son-da
kika-ankarada-yht-kazasi-41050307). Hürriyet (in Turkish). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
4. "Deutscher unter den Opfern" (https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/zugunglueck-tuerkei-105.html). Tagesschau (in
German). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
5. "Ankara'da tren kazası" (https://www.cnnturk.com/turkiye/son-dakika-ankarada-yht-kazasi). CNN Türk (in Turkish). 13
December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
6. "Turkey train crash: Several killed in high-speed train collision" (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/turkey-train-
crash-killed-high-speed-train-collision-181213051334317.html). Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
7. "Ankara'da tren kazasında enkaz kaldırma çalışması sürüyor" (https://www.haberturk.com/ankara-da-tren-kazasinda-
enkaz-kaldirma-calismasi-suruyor-2259502). Habertürk (in Turkish). 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December
2018.
8. "YHT kazası sonrası tren seferleri yeniden başladı" (http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/yht-kazasi-sonrasi-tren-seferle
ri-yeniden-basladi-41053479). Hürriyet (in Turkish). 16 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
9. Öztürk, Fundanur & Burcu Cura (15 December 2018). "Ankara'da tren kazası – Uzmanlar, Ulaştırma Bakanı Turhan
ile aynı fikirde değil: 'Sinyalizasyon kesinlikle gerekli' " (https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-46571859). BBC
(in Turkish). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
10. Karabat, Ayşe (17 December 2018). "Ankara crash: Train workers boycotted track opening over safety issues" (http
s://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ankara-train-crash-casts-cloud-over-turkish-state-railway-326894207). Middle East
Eye. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
11. "Ankara'daki tren kazasının görüntüleri ortaya çıktı!" (https://www.haberturk.com/son-dakika-ankara-daki-tren-kazasini
n-goruntuleri-ortaya-cikti-2260852). Habertürk (in Turkish). 14 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
12. "High-speed train crashes in Turkey, killing 9" (https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/12/13/europe/turkey-train-crash-intl/inde
x.html). CNN. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
13. "Three train workers detained after high-speed crash in Ankara leaves nine dead" (https://www.itv.com/news/2018-12-
13/four-killed-after-train-crashes-into-overpass-in-turkish-capital/). Independent Television News. Retrieved
13 December 2018.
14. "İşte Ankara'daki tren kazasında hareket memurunun ve makasçının ifadesi" (https://www.haberturk.com/iste-hareket-
memurunun-ifadesi-2264335). Habertürk (in Turkish). 17 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.

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