The Voghera train crash is considered one of the most serious incidents in the history of the Italian railways. It happened at track three of Voghera railway station, on the night of 31 May 1962. 64 people died, and 40 were seriously injured.

History

At 2.35 on 31 May 1962, freight train №. 8151, from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, hauled by an E626 class

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

, entered Voghera station at high speed, against protection signals set to 'danger'. It then collided with the rear of passenger train №. 1391, which was stationary on Track 3, and about to depart for

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. The locomotive of train 8151 became wedged in the last carriage of train 1391, killing 60 people instantly and injuring over 40, four of whom later died in hospital. All of the victims were in the last carriage. They were mostly holidaymakers bound for the Ligurian Riviera.

Investigations

Examination of the

wheel speed sensor A wheel speed sensor (WSS) or vehicle speed sensor (VSS) is a type of tachometer. It is a sender device used for reading the speed of a vehicle's wheel rotation. It usually consists of a toothed ring and pickup. Automotive wheel speed sensor ...

date from the locomotive at the head of train 8151 revealed that the train appeared to have been travelling at between and all the way from Milan Rogoredo, except for a brief slowdown near

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. The train's speed had not diminished even upon arrival at Voghera, except during the nine seconds immediately before the collision, when it had fallen sharply from to about . This speed was not in any way acceptable, regardless of the danger setting displayed by the signal, given that the train was due to stop at the station for a change of traction. At that time, the Milan–Voghera was energised with DC electric current, and the Voghera–Genoa section with three-phase AC current, imposing a requirement for a change of locomotive at Voghera. The train braking on train 8151 had been activated only about from the rear of the train 1391. Given the characteristics of the brake, and its time of entry into operation, it can be assumed that it was activated in response to stop signals given by hand by station staff, as in fact was admitted by the driver.

Commemorations

On 31 May 2002, the 40th anniversary of the accident, a marble commemorative plaque was placed on a wall of Voghera railway main station (facing platform 1 near the newsstand). The plaque bears the following inscription: "The distressing horror of the time of trouble lives again today and will live forever in the memory and silence of all Vogherese. 31 May 1962 - 31 May 2002." The ceremony was attended by representatives of local authorities.

References

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