In the accident of two trains in Pezinok, an extremely tragic event could have occurred if the collision had occurred while one of the trains was passing through the switch. Fortunately, the trains did not collide from the side and the accident did not cause any deaths, so apparently a few tens of seconds made the difference. Ján Biznár, vice-president of the Association of Industrial Unions and Transport (APZD), stated this for TASR, saying that the accident and also the recent collision of express trains near Rožňava are the result of a non-conceptual railway solution over the past 30 years.
According to Biznár, the accident of two trains near Pezinok was due to the missing ETCS security device in the train, which, according to initial findings, had passed a red light. The vice-president of APZD reminded that while in the Czech Republic all locomotives on lines equipped with the ETCS system must be equipped with the device, in our country trains that are not equipped with the device also run on the modernized line. “Trains that go more than 120 kilometers per hour must have it. However, there are many locomotives on that track that do not have ETCS,” said Biznár.
According to the vice-president of APZD, the train crash near Pezinek and the recent accident on the railway near Rožňava are the result of a non-conceptual solution to rail transport over the past decades. “Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic, our politicians mainly declare that they support the Slovak railway, but they do nothing for it. There is no long-term realistic plan with funding to make it safer. There are still a lot of things based on the human factor, an incredible amount on the conditions of the 21st century,” said Biznár.
According to APZD, Slovakia needs a law on national transport infrastructure, which would clearly define the goals and method of modernization of railway transport and from which investments will be financed. According to Biznár, the other accidents are a clear signal of the need for a conceptual change, and one cannot wait for a tragedy to occur. “Even in the Czech Republic, they started investing after a series of fatal railway accidents, when trains collided for similar reasons. They made a plan and today they are at the end of that plan and have the most modern security equipment in Europe“, added the vice president of APZD.
Two trains collided near Pezinka on Sunday (November 9) evening. Train REX 1814 collided with train Ex 620 after leaving the Pezinok station. The reason was probably that one of them ran a red light. The accident did not cause any casualties, but dozens of passengers were injured. 79 people ended up in hospitals. The most serious injuries were suffered by three people with chest and abdominal injuries, 60 patients suffered minor injuries.
In mid-October, there was an accident on the railway in the Rožňava district as well. Two express trains collided near the village of Jablonov nad Turnňő at the point where the tracks cross and turn into a single-track line. After the accident, they registered seven people in critical condition, 14 moderately injured and 48 lightly injured.
The Minister of Transport of the Slovak Republic Jozef Ráž (nominee of Smer-SD) offered his position to the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fic (Smer-SD) on Monday. He refused this offer. At the same time, the prime minister asked the head of the transport department to dismiss the management of the Slovak Railway Company (ZSSK) with immediate effect.
