No one was injured in the crash, which occurred shortly before 2pm on Thursday, on the approach to Kautenbach station near Wiltz.
Fewer than ten passengers were aboard the train at the time of the collision, all of whom escaped unscathed. The train driver was checked at the scene, but not hospitalised.
The collision caused substantial material damage at the level crossing, although a spokesperson for CFL said they did not have exact details on the condition of the rails.
A police investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the incident. According to initial reports, the lorry driver tried to carry out a U-turn manoeuvre, but the lorry's trailer got caught on the rails. The driver was able to escape the vehicle prior to the collision with the train.
The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps posted images on Facebook depicting the extent of the damage. They explained they had triggered the "many victims" (NOVi) response immediately following the crash, but the number of response teams had been reduced once they saw the scale of the incident and the lack of injuries.
All train traffic on rail line 10 has been paused since the incident, with trains thought to be suspended between Kautenbach and Wiltz for the next two weeks. CFL said repairs would take several days, but the accident has coincided with planned engineering works until 18 April as part of phase II of repairs scheduled for 2021.
Simone Nilles of CFL said that accidents at level crossings were extremely common. Once a week on average in Luxembourg, a vehicle ignores the highway code and attempts to cross while the barriers are descending. At the end of 2020, the CFL scrapped the level crossing at Merkholtz, but there are no plans to do the same at Kautenbach.
However, Nilles said it was a point of honour to remove level crossings over the years, with two to three removed each year. Such a removal requires extensive analysis and work, as the removal also often requires the construction of a substantial structure.
