Two car passengers died in a fatal collision between a train and a car at an unsecured level crossing near Borohrádek, in the Hradec Králové Region. It is the sixth train incident in July, and the third fatal incident. Photo credit: DICR.
Czech Rep., Jul 22 (BD) – On Tuesday afternoon, at around 4.45pm, a train collided with a car at a crossing near Borohrádek, in the Hradec Králové Region. The driver of the car and a passenger were killed in the accident. The four passengers on the train were not injured.
After the crash, the car remained wedged under the train, which led to the passengers’ deaths. The incident occurred at an unsecured crossing, marked only with warning crosses. The Rail Safety Inspection Office (Drážní Inspekce) is conducting an investigation at the scene, and have reported that the visibility conditions were sufficient at the time of the collision for cars travelling in any direction.
This is the sixth incident involving trains in July, and the third fatal incident. According to the Rail Safety Inspection Office, there has been an increasing number of fatal accidents at level crossings, from one in ten accidents normally to one in three in 2020.
Although all of the more than 8,000 railway crossings in the Czech Republic must comply with the relevant laws, regulations, and standards, this has not prevented dozens of people from being killed every year, in several hundred accidents. Most of these occur at level crossings secured only by warning crosses, or with traffic lights, and the Rail Safety Inspection Office has stated that “the vast majority of accidents are caused by road users entering the crossing illegally.” July and August also generally see more accidents, and more injuries and deaths than other months.
In light of the recent accidents, the state-owned Czech Railways has committed to increasing security, mostly through more inspections and training of their staff. For some years, the Rail Safety Inspection Office has said they ‘are striving’ to increase the number of crossings secured with barriers.
