Five years since the Lahnstein freight train disaster, diesel residue remains unremoved.

On August 30, 2020, a freight train accident occurred near Niederlahnstein station, while the train was traveling from Rotterdam to Basel. The derailment involved eight mineral oil tank cars, six of which overturned and leaked diesel fuel.

The cleanup process, which took several days, involved around 200 personnel from firefighters, police, the German Red Cross, and the Technical Relief Agency (THW). One person was slightly injured, and residents had to evacuate their homes temporarily.

The Federal Bureau of Railway Accident Investigation identified several factors contributing to the derailment, including the train traveling too fast, an oversight system failure due to a train driver's incorrect setting, and problems with the track infrastructure.

Following the accident, the train driver's license was revoked by the Federal Railway Authority due to multiple violations, and the Higher Administrative Court of Münster upheld the decision.

As for the rehabilitation efforts, the right Rhine track became fully operational again only a month after the accident. However, currently, about 30 percent of the original soil contamination remains. The city of Lahnstein describes the rehabilitation procedure as "ecologically sensible" and without major inconvenience to residents.

The rehabilitation costs were expected to be in the mid to high single-digit million range, according to the railway's statement in August 2025. The city of Lahnstein has been using the in-situ method of bioventing since August 2022 to accelerate the natural breakdown of diesel fuel by microorganisms in the soil. No relevant entries have been detected in the groundwater since then.

Despite these efforts, there is no specific information available about an investigation or report on the factors that led to the train traveling too fast before the accident in Lahnstein. The available update from Deutsche Bahn mentioned ongoing investigations and expert inspections regarding a train accident, but it referred to a different location, Riedlingen, and did not detail factors about speed or causes for a Lahnstein accident.

In September 2020, the city of Lahnstein handed over a resolution to the railway, proposing to close the heavily populated railway line for hazardous material transport and drastically reduce train speeds in urban and community areas to a maximum of 50 km/h. However, this resolution has been rejected by the railway to this day.

It's worth noting that diesel briefly entered the groundwater in February 2021 due to a flood, but existing safety measures prevented any contaminated groundwater from flowing off the railway property. The damages caused by the accident were estimated to be around 3 million euros for vehicles and infrastructure, but the follow-up costs for environmental damages were much greater, initially estimated at 16.3 million euros.

The cooperation between the city of Lahnstein and the railway is functioning well, as confirmed by the Rhein-Lahn district. From the city's perspective, the rehabilitation work is running "continuously and effectively". As the bioventing process continues, the city and the railway will continue their efforts to restore the affected area and ensure the safety of the community.