At least 20 people have been injured, three of them seriously, after a tram derailed in the east of Berlin, according to the Fire Department and Police of the German capital on Tuesday. Around a dozen people have had to be taken to hospitals for medical care, while the rest were treated by emergency services.
The derailment occurred in the Lichtenberg district. Initial reports point to a collision between the tram and two catenary poles. The right side of the train bore the impact and suffered severe damage, although it did not overturn. One of the initial hypotheses is that the crash may have occurred after turning on a long and sharp curve, which would have caused the last carriage to derail.
This morning a tram of line M5 derailed in a curve in #Lichtenberg, collided with two poles and derailed. According to the current status, 20 people were injured, 12 were taken to hospitals.
Wartenberger Str. is closed from Arnimstr. to Gottfriedstr. The… https://t.co/kfmGneBj30
— Polizei Berlin (@polizeiberlin) June 2, 2026
A team of about 60 firefighters had to be deployed at the scene of the accident and the power supply was temporarily cut off in the entire area affected by the accident. In addition, tram lines M5 and M7 also had to suspend service during the emergency services’ work.
The BVG, Berlin’s main public transport company, stated that the driver has not been questioned by authorities and is injured after the incident, following local media reports that the train was traveling at excessive speed. The company expects repairs to take at least 48 hours.
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