Berlin: The German rail track where Tuesday's deadly train collision occurred was fitted with an automatic braking system aimed at preventing such crashes, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.
The technology has been deployed across Germany's rail network since 2011 and "this automatic train safety system was also fitted on this track," said Dobrindt.
The safety mechanism known as PZB 90 should automatically activate the brakes of a train that is headed the wrong way along a track or running a red light.
Investigators would now examine why the system did not work, Dobrindt said, adding that three black boxes on the trains should help shed light on whether there had been "a technical problem or human error".
Two out of three black boxes had already been recovered, and the third should be found in the course of the day, said Dobrindt.
"At the moment, we will have to wait (for the cause of the accident), everything else is speculation, and would be unhelpful and inappropriate," he said.
