Eschede Train Disaster

On June 3, 1998, a high-speed Deutsche Bahn train traveling at 200 Kph derailed and crashed into a road bridge near the village of Eschede in northern Germany, killing 101 and injuring 100. It was the worst rail disaster in the history of Germany and the most catastrophic high-speed train crash every recorded in the world. What went wrong with Inter City Express or I.C.E. 884 "Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen" as it hurtled along its route between Munich and Hamburg? Incredibly, the disaster was set in motion by a tiny single fatigue crack in a wheel. What dynamic forces led it to develop and could it have prevented?