2000: The Kaprun Funicular Railway Disaster

A total of 155 people died in a fire in the "Kitzsteingam" cabin of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular on November 11, 2000. The cause of the catastrophe was a defective fan heater in the vehicle's downhill driver's cabin, which set fire to hydraulic oil that had spilled out of the unit’s brake system. Due to a drop in pressure in the brakes, the unit came to a halt in the tunnel section of the track, where the fire was further fanned by the air mass flowing upwards (chimney effect). Although the passengers were able to free themselves from the burning vehicle, the majority of them tried to flee uphill from the fire and were killed as a result of the poisonous flue gas that billowed in that direction. Only 12 people survived the disaster as they fled past the fire by going downhill. As a result of the accident, charges were brought against several people from the operating company, the manufacturer of the trains and the technical inspection bodies, but they were all acquitted since no direct accident-causing misconduct could be proven. The funicular train was later decommissioned by the operator and replaced with an above-ground cable car. In 2004, a memorial to the victims was inaugurated in Kaprun. The accident led to a significant tightening of Austrian public transport fire safety regulations.

External Resources (in German only):
https://tvthek.orf.at/profile/Archiv/7648449/Kaprun-Eine-Chronologie/10870249