The Metropolitan Electric Transport and the district administration presented to the media new information about the development of the investigation into a tram that derailed near the Romanian Embassy in Sofia and caused serious damage to several cars and an underpass. Hours after the two trains derailed, suspicions arose about the intervention of young people who may have released the handbrake and thus allowed the vehicle to move.
According to Eng. Alexander Dashev from “Metropolitan Electric Transport” the hard drives from the tram have been dismantled and handed over to the investigation, Nova TV reports. “There are cameras installed in the trains, they are the property of the Central Railway and look at the door of the tram and the first door of the tram. The driver explained that he had secured the machine and got off to buy coffee. As he left the store, he saw that the tram had started. It is still unclear whether there was any external interference. The driver has over 20 years of experience, but he did not remove the pantograph. He will be given an administrative penalty - a warning for dismissal or dismissal. This type of tram does not have a speed recorder. Getting off to buy coffee between stops is absolutely prohibited,” he noted. He added that the driver was checked for alcohol before leaving the depot, and the tram underwent a daily inspection.
The mayor of the "Sredets" district, Traycho Traykov, announced that an assessment of the damage is expected. "The impact destroyed the structure of the underpass. The good thing is that the roadway was not compromised, so traffic was resumed. The damage is probably for tens of thousands of leva, we have yet to see exactly how much, probably today or tomorrow it will become clear. The damages must be covered by the guilty, but first we will start restoring the infrastructure from the emergency fund”, he explained.
As a result of the released brake and the tram moving off, seven cars were hit, the two locomotives were seriously damaged, and the underpass in the area of the Romanian Embassy was destroyed. Miraculously, the incident passed without any injuries. Experts from the capital's electric transport are categorical that starting without external intervention is impossible.