– We found this project delayed and carried out very badly – Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Piotr Malepszak told “Faktom” TVN. After the findings of the journalists of “Black and White” Katarzyna Lazzeri and Olga Orzechowska, we asked how it is possible that by purchasing a simple device for PLN 150, you can stop trains.
How to paralyze traffic on the Polish railway? All you need is a simple radio for PLN 150 and instructions available online. The signal sent into the ether automatically stops all trains within its range. This is how the reporters of the “Black and white” program did it.
The experiment was carried out on a closed experimental track, but the unauthorized use of the radio stop signal is a plague for Polish railways. Last year it was used 775 times, delaying 524 passenger trains by a total of more than 60 hours. In the eyes of the law, it is just a hooligan act.
– Those people who stopped trains on the Warsaw – Łódź line for a year were sentenced to PLN 2,800, but these are losses – points out Adrian Furgalski, president of the TOR Economic Advisory Team.
Poland has committed to introducing a modern system
The Russian anthem sounded over railway radio speakers last August after someone radioed to stop 20 trains. – We are completely, completely exposed, even when transporting military infrastructure to Ukraine – says Prof. Daniel Boćkowski, head of the Department of International Security at the University of Białystok.
The analog radio-stop system was implemented after the railway disaster in Otańczyn in 1980. It is still used, although when joining the European Union, Poland committed to introduce ERTMS – European Rail Traffic Management System.
– These are systems that cannot be compared. It's like the difference between night and day. This modern system is a closed system, it has many other advantages and, above all, it is not as susceptible as the analog system – explains Dr. Eng. Wojciech Gamon from the Department of Railway Transport of the Silesian University of Technology.
Katarzyna Lazzeri on “two key threats” to railway traffic in PolandTVN24
Delays have already cost several billion zlotys
In 2015, a tender was announced, and three years later, the contractor was selected – Nokia. Six years have passed and the tracks have not been equipped with a digital standard. The funding for the construction of the new system amounted to almost PLN 9.5 billion.
– There were objective factors that influenced the extension of the implementation. Because not only is it a war, but it also happened during the pandemic. These were very important things then, which stopped all types of investments – explains Ireneusz Merchel, former president of the management board of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe.
Delays have already cost several billion zlotys. Mediation is underway with the contractor. – Last year we found this project very delayed, it was carried out by… many directors. You could say it was run poorly. It is very delayed and should already be completed with 14,000 kilometers of the network. Now it is a key task for us to restore these issues – comments Piotr Malepszak, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.
Main photo source: TVN24