Deadly Crash On German MonoRail.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5370564.stmTwenty-three people died and 10 were injured when an elevated magnetic train ploughed into a maintenance vehicle in north-western Germany.
The train, which floats on a monorail via a magnetic levitation system called maglev, was going at nearly 200km/h (120 mph) when it crashed near Lathen.
Damaged carriages were left balancing on track 5m (16ft) in the air, hampering rescue efforts. "Today we are in mourning," said Chancellor Angela Merkel at the scene.
The accident happened at about 1000 (0800 GMT), on a 31.8km (20 miles) test track from Lathen to Doerpenwhich is used for tourist trips and to demonstrate the technology.
Emergency workers used fire ladders and cranes to reach the carriages. Several metres below, the ground was strewn with wreckage.
Reports said up to 30 passengers on the train - mostly employees working on the system and staff from a local utility company, RWE.
'Human Error'The maintenance vehicle hit by the train had two crew members. A spokesman for IABG, the company which operates the train, said the accident had been caused by human error, rather than a technical fault.
Ms Merkel arrived by helicopter near the scene. Dressed in black, she extended condolences to the victims and their families: "I want to show that I am with them," she said. The Transrapid system, run by Siemens, is capable of speeds of up to 450km/h (280mph).
The only commercial example of a Transrapid system in operation is the high-speed shuttle to China's Shanghai airport from the city centre. It was developed by Transrapid International, a joint venture between Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp.
German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, who is in China, has cancelled his trip and is now on his way back to Germany. In August, a fire broke out on a Transrapid train in Shanghai, adding to concerns about the safety of the technology.
The German companies are keen to make Transrapid an export hit and negotiations are under way about building another link in China, and also in Munich, the BBC's Tristana Moore reports from Berlin.
