Train drivers in Poland launched a nationwide protest on Friday following the fatal accident on Wednesday at Sokolniki Suche. The trade union is calling on drivers to cross all level crossings at a maximum speed of 20 km/h, warning that the measure may cause significant delays to train services.
Polish train drivers are protesting on Friday, 11 September, against what they consider to be insufficient measures to ensure safety at level crossings.
The Polish Locomotive Drivers’ Union (ZZM) has called on all drivers, whether or not they are members of the organisation, to reduce their speed to 20 km/h at every level crossing in the country throughout the day.
The action began at midnight and is scheduled to end at 24:00.
“There are likely to be train delays, possibly even significant ones. But we believe it is better to have delays for a day than for people to continue dying on the railways,” said Leszek Miętek, president of the ZZM.
Protest following Wednesday’s fatal accident
The decision follows the accident that occurred on Wednesday at Sokolniki Suche, where an Intercity train travelling on the Lublin–Szczecin route collided with a concrete mixer lorry at a level crossing.
As a result of the collision, the locomotive and several railcars derailed. A 39-year-old female passenger died in hospital, and others were seriously injured, including the train driver and the lorry driver.
Initial findings by investigators suggest that the road vehicle entered the railway tracks whilst the red warning lights were active. The level crossing in question was not fitted with barriers.
Prosecutors are investigating the case on suspicion of negligently causing a rail disaster, an offence for which Polish law provides for sentences of up to eight years’ imprisonment.
The two drivers have not yet been able to be interviewed due to their state of health.
Trade union: “A red line has been crossed”
Leszek Miętek says that the organisation he heads has long been warning about the dangers at level crossings.
According to him, statistically, there is approximately one accident at a level crossing every two days in Poland.
“Wednesday’s accident came as no surprise to us,” said the trade union leader, adding, however, that following the tragedy at Sokolniki Suche, “a red line has been crossed”.
For over 18 months, the union has been running a campaign entitled ‘I want to live’, dedicated to the safety of train drivers and the risks posed by road vehicles entering the railway tracks illegally.
Just two days before the accident, the organisation had issued a new appeal regarding what it described as increasingly serious safety issues on the rail network.
The accident also prompted the Polish Government to announce urgent legislative measures.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for a drastic tightening of penalties for drivers who enter level crossings when the red light is on or the barriers are down.
“We must start work immediately on tightening the regulations,” the Prime Minister said after the accident.
The Minister for Infrastructure, Dariusz Klimczak, confirmed that amendments are in the pipeline, which he described as “radical”.
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