In an accident not survived by a passenger train driver, the City Elefant electric unit, which ran on a suburban line from Prague to Kolín and further to Přelouč, was wedged into the rear car of a postal train. The front chassis of the unit ended above the rear chassis of the wagon.
In the first hours after the accident, firefighters only secured the unit with a special tank of the Railway Administration’s fire brigade so that it would not overturn. At the same time, they tried to free the driver who remained in the destroyed cab. It was not until Wednesday morning that work began on the detachment of both sets. They did it around eight o’clock. According to Petr Svoboda, a spokesman for Central Bohemian firefighters, three locomotives were needed for this.
“Rail work is being carried out using a heavy truck crane. Firefighters of the Railway Administration are trying to return the postal train to the tracks so that it can be towed to the Český Brod station. City Elefant is still the first two axles off track, “added Marek Illiaš, a spokesman for the Railway Administration. Firefighters also use metal saws to cut off excess train.
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The operation was not fully resumed until Wednesday evening
Although the fire brigade expected that it would not be possible to let the trains run on the track until the afternoon, the Railway Administration finally opened the track through Český Brod at ten o’clock in the morning, but only partially – on only one of the three tracks and at a speed of only twenty kilometers.
It was only possible to open the other tracks after towing the wrecks of the crashed trains. According to the Railway Administration, the full resumption of operations took place at 20:50.
In the section Úvaly – Český Brod, the operation in all three tracks is resumed from 20:50. Without limits.
– Railway Administration (@Spravazeleznic) July 15, 2020
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Police are investigating the accident for general danger
What happened before the accident is becoming clear, although the end of the investigation is still a long way off. According to the Minister of Transport Karel Havlíček (for YES), the train passed the Stop signal before the accident. “There was a fatal failure of the driver’s behavior. (…) Most likely, what the investigation looks like, the traffic light turned red. He was blocked, stopped. However, for unknown reasons, however, he started again and crashed into a standing postal train at a speed of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour, “said Havlíček.
However, David Votroubek, a member of the Presidium of the Federation of Train Drivers, pointed out that the driver was proceeding as he should. “In Český Brod, the driver passed Stůj before the collision, but it should be noted that Stůj drove in accordance with the regulations. There was no mistake, “he pointed out.
That it was okay for the passenger train to start also follows from the words of Inspector General Jan Kučera. According to him, the mistake was the way he drove. “The driver apparently had to drive according to the viewing conditions. That means he should have been able to stop in front of a standing freight train, which obviously didn’t happen, “he made clear.
According to Petr Šlégr from the Center for Efficient Transport, the current security is flawed in that it only responds to errors that have already occurred. “The problem is that it can’t guarantee that the train will stop in front of the red light, and not behind it,” he said.
In addition to the Railway Inspectorate, the police are also investigating the tragic accident in České Brod. According to her spokeswoman Martina Fejfarová, she is being investigated for suspicion of general danger and injury to health resulting in negligent death.
About a hundred people traveled in a passenger train. The driver died and 35 people were injured according to the Central Bohemian rescue service. Four people are seriously injured. Most of them were taken by rescuers to Kolín and Nymburk, others to Prague, one seriously injured is in a hospital in České Budějovice.
According to the estimate of the Railway Inspectorate, the damage to the trains reached 45 million crowns, of which 40 million on the passenger train. However, the total material damage could be ten million higher. The Czech Post calculated the damage to the entire postal train at 15 million crowns. 800 packages were damaged or destroyed. Thousands more will delay delivery.
This is several accidents in the last week
Another train accident then occurred on Wednesday evening near Chrudim. At the entrance to the Medlešice station in the Chrudim region, a passenger train derailed. Railway Inspector spokesman Martin Drápal said no one was injured. According to the data on the railway website, the traffic on the line is interrupted and an alternative bus service has been introduced in the Chrudim – Medlešice section.
