On October 17, 1888, the Borki station in the Kharkov province unexpectedly became famous due to a sensational event: the imperial train crashed on its section. Although the train was almost in perfect condition, the disaster occurred due to safety violations and excessive speeding. Alexander III loved fast driving and demanded that the engineers accelerate to maximum speeds. He was repeatedly hinted that this could lead to disaster, but he did not take these warnings seriously. The crash was only a matter of time.

Not long before this, a remarkable conversation took place. The head of the South-Western Railway prohibited the passage of the imperial train through his section and openly expressed this to the Minister of Transport, Konstantin Poshyet. He stated on the platform: "Let others do as they wish, but this will end with you breaking the Tsar's neck." Everyone expected that after such words the minister would fire him, but this did not happen. The head was named Sergei Witte, and after the disaster, Alexander III ordered him to be found. A few years later, Witte himself became the Minister of Transport.

Now about the disaster itself. On October 17, the train was pulled by two locomotives, which reached an unacceptable speed. The different rhythms of their movement at a speed of 68 km/h shook the weak structure of the tracks of the private railway, and the second locomotive fell between the rails. The most terrible tragedy occurred in the first carriage, where the staff was having lunch. The impact crumpled it like an accordion, and all the passengers died. Empress Maria Feodorovna recalled: "In the last second, I saw Sasha opposite me at the narrow table, and then it collapsed down. I instinctively closed my eyes to avoid shards of glass and everything that was falling around. Everything was thundering and grinding, and then there was dead silence, as if no one was left alive."

The imperial family was saved. While they were getting out from under the debris, Alexander III supported the heavy roof of the carriage on his shoulders.