On the 11th of November, 2000, a fire began on board a train carrying passengers up to a
ski resort in Kaprun, Austria. Automated safety systems brought the train to a halt in a tunnel
midway to its destination, while almost at the same moment the flames destroyed the
hydraulic system which controlled the doors. The 162 passengers on board were now trapped
twice over, locked inside a burning train that was itself stalled inside a smoke-filled tunnel.
Despite valiant efforts on the part of many on board, the vast majority of passengers would
not survive. Kaprun is a popular tourist destination with a number of attractions.
Chief among these is Mount Kitzsteinhorn - a towering mountain the slopes and glaciers
of which provide the opportunity for year-round skiing and other winter sports.
Kaprun is perfectly situated at the foot of the mountain - an ideal destination for
those who wish to enjoy as much time as possible on the slopes.
The first ever mass transit system designed to carry skiers to the top of Mount Kitzsteinhorn
was installed in 1965 in the form of a three-stage aerial lift.
By boarding a series of small gondolas visitors could travel a total of 3,000 meters (around
5,000 feet) to the top of the mountain, before making their way back down at their leisure.
Within just 10 years, however, the popularity of snow sports in the region had grown so
rapidly that a new system was needed. At great expense a funicular railway was installed.
Funicular railways are often found on very steep slopes. The basic principle of operation
is simple: there are two cars joined by a cable. As one car descends the other rises.
In early funiculars this was achieved by pumping water into ballast tanks under the cars until one
car was heavier than the other, and could descend - pulling the other up the track as it did so.
The Kaprun funicular, and many other modern installations like it,
was not water-powered... but was instead driven by machinery located at the upper end of the track.
It would carry visitors from Kaprun up to the Alpine cCnter on the mountain,
from which they could access the slopes of Mount Kitzsteinhorn. The track was nearly
4,000 meters (around 13,000 feet) in length - a significant portion of which was through a tunnel.
This tunnel was wide enough only to accommodate a single train.
Another eccentricity of the Kaprun funicular was that both the ascending and descending
trains ran on the same track for most of their journey, with the tunnel only widening and the
track only dividing into two at the place where the two trains would have to pass one another.
The trains themselves were relatively simple. Even after a cosmetic update to a slick modern design
in 1993 there were no complex systems on board. The machinery which provided power
for the trains was all situated at the top of the track. The single on-board attendant
(more a conductor than a driver) would normally have little more to do
than to monitor the progress of the train and open and close the doors on cue.
At just after 9am on the 11th of November, 2000, the train was running as normal.
The ascending vehicle had just left the station, loaded with 161 passengers and one conductor.
A fan heater at the rear of the train burst into flames.
These flames quickly melted plastic pipes carrying hydraulic fluid...
flammable hydraulic fluid. Not only did this cause the flames to spread with incredible rapidity,
but it also caused the hydraulic door mechanisms to fail due to a loss of pressure.
The train was brought to a stop by an automated safety system around 600 metres into the tunnel.
Having now noticed the fire the attendant attempted to use the control panel to open
the doors and evacuate passengers, but because of the failure of the hydraulic system was
unable to do so. His efforts to manually open the doors were further hampered when the fire
burned through a power cable causing a complete blackout.
In the dark, surrounded by smoke and with flames rapidly approaching,
many passengers attempted to break windows in order to escape... but few were successful. The
train was fitted with shatterproof acrylic panels that wouldn't yield even to repeated blows. Indeed
only a small number of passengers from the rear of the train were able to escape this way. Using
ski equipment they were able to create a hole in a window panel and clamber out onto the track.
There, following the advice of one of their number who happened to be a volunteer firefighter, they
fled downwards... even though this meant passing close by the raging fire. On foot 12 people made
their way back down to the opening of the tunnel. They would be the only survivors of the disaster.
Back on the train the attendant had at last managed to manually unlock
the doors. By this stage several passengers had already been overcome by smoke and heat.
Those who were still conscious spilled out into the tunnel. Quite naturally they fled upwards,
away from the source of the smoke and flames. This instinct, however, would prove to be deadly.
The tunnel acted as a chimney, funneling smoke and heat upwards from the burning train.
Nobody who fled upwards through the tunnel survived to reach the top...
and indeed smoke channeled upwards by the tunnel reached the topmost
station and overwhelmed three people there before the building could be evacuated.
Of course, funicular trains run in tandem - thus a descending train was also in the tunnel. Given
that it was early in the morning it was thankfully relatively empty. Nonetheless two people - one
attendant and one passenger - on board that train also died as a result of smoke inhalation.
Among the 155 dead were people of many nationalities. There were holidaymakers, snow
sports enthusiasts, and even a number of promising young athletes. The loss of so many lives from
such a wide range of places made the Kaprun disaster a tragedy that was felt around the world.
An investigation was launched into the disaster and quickly pinpointed the source of ignition.
The electric fan heater which had started the fire was discovered to be a domestic unit,
suitable only for households and not for moving vehicles.
There were some indications too that the hydraulic lines might have been leaking into the fan heater.
This fan heater was the main cause of the fire, although many other issues were brought up during
the investigation. One salient point was that the funicular train had very few safety features.
The acrylic windows couldn't be broken in order to allow a swift escape,
and fire extinguishers were locked away in drivers' cabins.
Additionally there was no easy way for passengers to alert the attendant to a developing emergency.
These things are all safety features that, even in 2000,
were commonplace on other means of transport. So why were they absent here?
In part it was due to the perception that the funicular was fireproof. Being constructed
primarily of aluminium and steel, and with plastic fittings, a fire was deemed unlikely.
This incorrect perception was borne out by the fact that there had never been a fire on board
a funicular before. It simply wasn't considered to be a danger worth planning for. The flammable
nature of the hydraulic oil from the door system was, it appears, barely ever considered.
16 people were brought to trial, including a selection of employees whose responsibilities
covered the operation and outfitting of the train, as well as a number of managers.
Despite lengthy legal proceedings everyone involved was eventually acquitted. It was
decided that no misconduct, not even negligence, could be adequately proven.
After the disaster the burned tunnel was sealed and the remaining track demolished.
To replace it two new lifts were installed a chairlift and an aerial lift with gondolas.
A memorial to the victims of the disaster was also inaugurated in 2004, featuring a
rainbow of coloured glass strips, each of which represents a life that was lost in the tragedy.
A key factor in the Kaprun disaster was that no funicular had ever caught fire before.
The disaster prompted the management of funicular railways all over the world to update their fire
safety protocols, run exercises, and generally make changes to their trains to make them
safer. Funiculars remain a relatively rare and unusual means of transport, but just like any
other the safety regulations which govern them are, as it is often said, written in blood.