Smoke at Praterstern: Faulty U1 Triggers Major Operation

A defective train of the Vienna subway line U1 caused smoke development and a major fire department operation on Thursday evening. There were no injuries.

Defective U1 Caused Smoke Development: Major Operation at Praterstern

A defect was noticed on the train as it entered the Praterstern station, said a spokeswoman for Wiener Linien to APA. Passengers were asked to disembark. Smoke development then occurred on a siding towards Vorgartenstraße. According to the fire department, the operation has since been concluded.

There were no passengers in the defective train after it continued from Praterstern, said Wiener Linien spokeswoman Klara Trautner upon inquiry. The Praterstern and Vorgartenstraße stations were evacuated. Passengers were escorted out of both stations. No trains ran temporarily between Stephansplatz and Donauinsel. According to the spokeswoman, no employees of Wiener Linien were injured. The Vienna professional rescue service was initially on site at Praterstern with a "very strong number" of emergency personnel, according to their spokesman. The police also supported the operation.

There was "slight smoke development," said fire department spokesman Lukas Schauer. The exact extent of the damage to the train was still unclear. In any case, the emergency personnel were returning by 7:00 PM. The U1 was running continuously again shortly thereafter, said Trautner. Among other things, the power rail had been checked beforehand. What started to smoke on the train and why is still being investigated, according to the spokeswoman.

U1 Fire Last Year

In November of the previous year, a train of the Vienna U1 caught fire and came to a burning stop between the stations Taubstummengasse and Südtiroler Platz/Hauptbahnhof. The driver and five station employees of Wiener Linien were slightly injured by smoke gases, and the professional fire department was able to extinguish the fire after an hour. The cables on the route and the track bed in the affected area were partially so severely damaged that the operation of the U1 between Keplerplatz and Stephansplatz was only resumed ten days later after repair work.

(APA/Red)

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