Investigators are explaining the causes of the collision of freight trains in Kuźnia Raciborska. It turns out that the rail broke and a piece of its upper part fell out. One driver suffered a chest contusion. Railway traffic was suspended for several days.
An accident at the Kuźnia Raciborska station in the area of the rail-road crossing at ul. Staszica occurred on Thursday around 12 noon. A freight train on the Baborów – Wrocław route derailed there, and then there was a collision with a freight train approaching from the opposite direction on the Gdańsk Port Północny – Chałupki route. The police informed on the same day that activities involving representatives of the State Commission for the Investigation of Railway Accidents ruled out the possibility that the action of third parties led to the train collision.
“As it was established, as a result of a fragment of the upper part of the rail breaking and falling out while the train on the Baborów – Wrocław route was rolling, the wagons of this train derailed, which hit a level crossing and overturned onto the adjacent track. The overturned wagons were hit by a locomotive of the Gdańsk Port Północny train. – Chałupki, transporting metal elements – the District Prosecutor's Office in Gliwice announced on Monday.
The driver is injured, traffic resumes
As a result of the incident, a 52-year-old driver of one of the trains suffered a chest contusion and after being treated at the District Hospital in Racibórz, he was discharged home. Both the drivers and the traffic controller operating this section were sober.
The Gliwice prosecutor's office informed that the proceedings are being conducted under Art. 173 par. 2 of the Penal Code, i.e. unintentionally causing a disaster in land traffic. This crime is punishable by 3 months to 5 years in prison.
After the accident, railway traffic was blocked. Company services PKP Polish Railways worked to re-rail the wagons and remove damaged parts of the train. Then, it was necessary to repair the tracks, railway traffic control devices and the traction network. On Sunday evening, representatives of PKP PLK announced the resumption of train traffic at the station in Kuźnia Raciborska.
Trains are already running there on two tracks – 1 and 3. Repair work is underway on tracks 2 and 4. There are still difficulties in train traffic – the Provincial Crisis Management Center in Katowice confirmed on Monday. Work is also underway at the rail-road crossing on ul. Staszica, which is still impassable for cars. They are scheduled to end in early December.
Main photo source: Volunteer Fire Department in Siedliska