In January 1917, World War I had pushed Romania to its absolute limit. With invading Central Powers forces advancing, thousands of civilians, wounded soldiers, and Russian troops flooded the rail line from Bârlad to Iași seeking safety. At the center of this chaos was Express 116, a train designed for far fewer passengers that was overrun by upwards of 1,500 to 2,500 people.
Desperate evacuees crammed onto car roofs, clung to exterior footboards, and squeezed between carriages in sub-zero temperatures. As the monstrously heavy train tackled the steep 13-kilometer descent toward Ciurea station, disaster struck. The train's continuous air brakes had been disconnected or damaged, largely because passengers clinging to the exterior had unknowingly crushed or severed the brake pipes.
With only the locomotive's independent brakes functional, the train gained terrifying, uncontrollable speed down the icy slope. Desperate whistle blasts alerted station officials, but manual handbrakes applied by brave crew members were completely ineffective against the momentum. As the runaway train barreled into Ciurea station at extreme speed, it was directed onto a switch leading to a track occupied by another stationary train.
The resulting impact was catastrophic. 26 of the train's 28 cars derailed, collapsing into a mountain of twisted metal, exploding fuel tanks, and roaring flames. Between 800 and 1,000 people perished in the wreckage, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in human history, though its story was largely swallowed by the broader atrocities of the Great War.