Protest of train drivers across Poland. Trains will slow down to 20 km/h

Protest of train drivers across Poland

As Leszek Miętek, head of the Trade Union of Drivers, warns, tomorrow delays will apply to all trains - from regional to long-distance.

All of them will slow down due to the fact that all trains are driven by drivers - emphasizes Miętek.

RMF FM journalist Michał Dobrołowicz asked Leszek Miętek whether Pendolino trains would also slow down to a speed of 20 km/h.

Of course. Pendolinos also have collisions at crossings. Traffic jams related to the reduced speed of these trains at these crossings may even result in the need to cancel some trains - says Miętek.

There will probably be train delays tomorrow, probably even big ones. However, we believe that it is better if these delays last for one day than for more people to die on Polish tracks - added Miętek.

Train drivers will reduce speed just after midnight and their action is expected to last for twenty-four hours. They demand talks with the Ministry of Infrastructure as soon as possible.

Tragedy at a railway crossing in Sokolniki Suche

The accident that triggered this protest action occurred on Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. at a railway crossing in Sokolniki Suche near national road 12 in Mazovia. Preliminary investigation findings show that the truck driver entered the tracks despite the light signal prohibiting entry. He collided with an InterCity train on the Lublin Główny - Szczecin route.

As a result of the accident, the electric locomotive and the first two wagons of the train derailed. At least 114 people were traveling in it, including three crew members.

Eight people were transported to hospitals in Radom and Kielce. One of the passengers died in the hospital. Four people - including the driver and driver - are in a serious condition.

The prosecutor's office secured the recorder from the driver's cab

The investigation into the accident will be conducted by the District Prosecutor's Office in Radom. The proceedings will focus on unintentionally causing a disaster in land and rail traffic, threatening the life or health of many people or property on a large scale, resulting in human death. The penalty is from 6 months to 8 years in prison.

According to Aneta Góźdź, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Radom, investigators secured, among others: recorder from the driver's cab.

Earlier, the District Prosecutor in Radom, Robert Czerwiński, emphasized that the monitoring in the locomotive would allow for clear and undisputed determination of many important circumstances of the accident. There is no monitoring at the crossing in Sokolniki.

After the accident in Sokolniki Suche, the regulations are to be tightened