07.12.2023

Telehandler overturns onto railway

A 360 degree telehandler overturned onto the railway tracks near Orschweier, about halfway between Offenburg and Freiburg.
The Mahlberg volunteer fire brigade, which is located close by, was quickly on the scene having been alerted at 23.30 that the telehandler had overturned onto the tracks and was at risk of catching fire.

The machine - a Merlo Roto in the region of 4,500kg/21 metres from the Zeppelin rental fleet - was installing sound protection barriers along the rail tracks overnight. It was equipped with a boom tip mounted winch but was working with most of its boom extended and yet was free on wheels.
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The operator was injured and treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. We understand that his injuries are not too serious.

The overturned telehandler was dragged off the railway by a tracked excavator for later recovery. The railway, part of the busy Rhine Valley Railway was closed for several hours.

The Karlsruhe - Basle section of the railway, of which this stretch is a part, is currently being upgraded to increase capacity, with two more tracks and some bypasses being added to increase speeds on more parts of the line to 155mph/250kph.