Overview
- ICE 589, which struck a torn overhead wire near Bardowick on Friday, made an emergency stop and held about 460 passengers under a live 15,000‑volt line.
- Fire crews and Deutsche Bahn managers earthed the line and evacuated people via connecting gangways into a replacement ICE that returned to Hamburg.
- Heat in the stalled train triggered medical issues, with seven passengers treated for circulatory problems and one person taken to a hospital.
- Deutsche Bahn said Saturday that repairs are still underway with one of three tracks closed, and services face residual delays as some long‑distance trains route via Hannover and Metronom’s RE3 and RB31 run with major disruptions and bus replacements after a separate switch fault in Winsen prolonged evening holdups.
- Bundespolizei opened an investigation into the overhead‑line failure, and officials stressed that high‑voltage catenary systems must be earthed before anyone can approach or evacuate safely.