Eschede 1998: The Broken Wheel That Destroyed a High-Speed Train
On June 3, 1998, ICE Train 884 was traveling through Germany at nearly 200 kilometers per hour when part of a fractured wheel pierced the floor of a passenger carriage. Moments later, the damaged wheel struck a railway switch, derailing the train and bringing down a concrete road bridge. The disaster claimed 101 lives and became the deadliest high-speed train accident in history. This episode of Final Signal reconstructs the hidden fatigue crack, the catastrophic chain of events, the investigation, and the safety changes that followed.