Polish railways aware of points fault ahead of deadly train crash

photo - PAP/Piotr Polak

The fault concerned a set of points; the switch that enables a train to pass from one track to another.

“I know that this fault had been registered, but I don't know if it had any influence on the catastrophe,” said Director of Polish Railways (PKP), Adam Mlodawski, in an interview with the TVN television network.

The TVN 24 news station says it has obtained an incident log book concerning the line where the accident occurred. According to the television station, similar faults with the set of points occurred several times in the weeks leading up to the crash, following a modernisation programme.

Polish Railway refuses to elaborate further on the allegations.

“I will not comment on these findings, we will wait until the completion of the investigation, and then we will talk about the causes of the crash,” Mlodawski said.

A signalman has been charged in connection with the crash. However, the man is currently under psychiatric observation, owing to shock, and has not been informed of the charges against him.

According to the log book, the first fault was registered at 8.40 pm, concerning the set of points, and this should have been apparent to the signalman at Starzyny, 17 minutes prior to the accident.

However, a second fault then occurred in the vicinity of Sprowa at 8.48 pm. This related to a semaphore, the rail-side signal for the use of drivers.

Just nine minutes later, the train crashed. (nh/pg)