He has been sentenced to 3-and-a-half years in prison.
The dispatcher, identified only as Michael P in line with German privacy laws, has admitted playing a game on his phone shortly before the two trains he was in charge of collided on a single-track line on February 9 near Bad Aibling, about 60 kilometers southeast of Munich. He then hit the wrong signal buttons.
News agency dpa reported that prosecutors sought a four-year sentence, while the defense called for two years at most. The state court in Traunstein delivered its verdict today.