Collision on New Year's Day: River cruiser damages Hunte Bridge near Elsfleth!

Collision on New Year's Day: River cruiser damages Hunte Bridge near Elsfleth!

On New Year's morning at 9:15 a.m. a Dutch river cruiser collided with the railway bridge over the Hunte near Elsfleth. The 82 meter long cruiser was on its way from Bremen to Oldenburg and had 58 passengers and 20 crew members on board. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the collision. How bremen.t-online.de reported, however, the Hunte Bridge itself did not spare any difficulties: rail traffic had to be temporarily closed. The route was only reopened to trains at 12:05 p.m.

But what led to this new collision? The ship's crew had expected a free space of 20 cm under the bridge. Unfortunately, wind and waves lifted the ship and caused the unfortunate collision. Despite the situation, the cruiser's passengers and crew suffered only minor damage, and the ship was allowed to continue its voyage. Nevertheless, administrative offense proceedings were initiated against the captain.

Previous incidents and repairs

The Hunte Bridge has an eventful history when it comes to shipping traffic. There have been several collisions in recent years. In February 2024, an inland freighter collided with the bridge, resulting in Deutsche Bahn having to install a temporary bridge. Just a few months later, in July 2024, there was another collision with a motor tanker, which paralyzed the railway line for a whole month. These events show that the bridge is continually being targeted and urgent action is needed to improve safety.

Deutsche Bahn is currently working hard to repair the Hunte Bridge. After the most recent incident, a team of experts carried out the first damage assessments. As the deutschebahn.com reported that preparatory work for a permanent auxiliary bridge will begin immediately. This temporary solution is intended to restore the train connection between Elsfleth and Berne as quickly as possible. In the meantime, damaged tracks and overhead lines are being dismantled, and separate investigations using a floating crane and sonar technology are also underway.

The bridge is not only important in terms of infrastructure, but it is also crucial for freight traffic and the connection to the Oldenburg port. Deutsche Bahn is therefore intensively planning to build a new movable bridge that will ensure unrestricted navigability on the Hunte and stabilize regional traffic.

Safety precautions and shipping

There are many safety precautions associated with shipping on federal waterways that are regulated by the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration. The gdws.wsv.bund.de explains that a variety of measures are being taken to promote traffic and ward off danger. There are strict regulations that must be adhered to, particularly in connection with the transport of dangerous goods.

The current events surrounding the Hunte Bridge illustrate how important it is that both shipping and rail operations are safe and reliable. It remains to be hoped that the planned construction work will progress quickly so that the bridge can soon be used to its full extent again and future collisions can be avoided.