After the train accident near Sofia, in which two people died and six others were injured - an emergency meeting was convened at the Ministry of Transport. The new Minister Grozdan Karadjov summoned the heads of BDZ, as well as the Board for the Investigation of Transport Incidents. Measures to improve safety in rail transport are being discussed at the meeting, BNT reported.
After the serious train accident on Wednesday, in which two people died, two are still fighting for their lives, three resignations followed. An emergency meeting is underway at the Ministry of Transport between the newly appointed Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov, the head of BDZ, the head of NRIC, as well as some of the investigators. This meeting should identify measures to prevent similar incidents, such as the one we witnessed last week.
Two parallel investigations are underway into the case - one by the Board for the Investigation of Serious Transport Incidents, and the other by the Prosecutor's Office. During the train accident, the dispatcher learned that two of the freight trains were heading towards each other and ordered the power supply to the contact network to be cut off. This happened, but it happened in the wrong station, so the electricity was not turned off during the incident.
"I also find it logical to conduct an audit not only during the term of the acting minister, but to examine the activities of the National Railways and the two Bulgarian State Railways in general, because the increasing incidents and accidents show that something in the safety system is lame and that this thing must be put to an end," said Grozdan Karadjov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport.
After the meeting, Minister Karadjov said that the task he set was to ensure that there would be no more accidents in railway transport.
"We discussed where to break through in the system. We declare zero tolerance for any violations of discipline, rules and norms for railway transport. No employee or manager will be tolerated if such violations lead to accidents or, God forbid, a catastrophe. There are more frequent exits from red traffic lights by train drivers. A big problem is also the so-called unconnected stations, which are not in the security system. There is a possibility of trains leaving unmarked tracks. Tolerating such small things leads to major accidents. The conclusions are that we need to think about a secondary control system where there is a possibility of human error," Karadjov explained.
Two types of measures were identified at the meeting: emergency, which will be installed immediately, and long-term, which will require time and finances. The deadlines are until Friday for the emergency measures and a month for their implementation, the Minister of Transport specified.