INVESTIGATIONS are underway in Slovakia into the cause of a head-on collision on October 13 between two passenger trains in which 29 passengers and one train crew member were injured, two of them seriously. The drivers of both trains survived the crash by jumping off their locomotives shortly before impact.
The accident is being investigated by Slovakia’s national operator ZSSK in cooperation with infrastructure manager ŽSR. Separate investigations are also underway by the Slovak Police and the investigation branch of the Slovak Ministry of Transport.
The collision between two diesel-hauled passenger trains occurred at 10.12 on the Košice - Rožňava line at the eastern end of Lipovník station where the double-track line becomes single-track on the approach to the single-track Jablonovsky tunnel. The maximum speed on the line is 100km/h.
The investigation will try to establish whether one of the trains passed a signal at danger, whether the signalling system was functioning correctly, what safety systems were in place, whether the trains had any faults, and whether the train crews obeyed all safety rules. ZSSK confirmed that both train drivers observed the legal rest period within their shift. “These are experienced train drivers,” ZSSK stated.
By the morning of October 14, most of the damaged vehicles had been removed from the accident site. Only one severely damaged coach, which is tilted and requires special equipment to remove it, remained at the site together with the damaged locomotive. ŽSR says both vehicles came to rest on an embankment approximately 30-50m from the track. ZSSK estimates that the damage to the locomotives and coaches exceeds €2m.
A replacement bus service was introduced between Turňa nad Bodvou and Rožňava, which is normally used by 18 Gemeran express trains per day in both directions. However, at 20.00 on October 14 traffic on the line was partially restored on one track with a reduced speed of 10km/h. ŽSR expected full restoration of traffic by the evening of October 15.
