On the morning of Wednesday 19 February, two freight trains collided in a major incident in Romania. The accident happened between the capital city Bucharest and Craiova. As a result of the collision, a train conductor on the Bulgarian PIMK Rail locomotive passed away.
“Unfortunately, as a result of this railway accident, one person lost his life, a man of approximately 60 years old. The victim was found by rescuers in the locomotive cabin, with injuries incompatible with life”, said the Romanian emergency situation inspectorate. “Two other people, employees of CFR [the Romanian state railway company], who were involved in this event, did not show visible signs of trauma, which is why they were monitored on the spot and refused transport to the hospital.”
The other operator involved in the collision was Rail Cargo Romania. The two trains collided on the “CF 100 Mainline” line between the Mihăiești and Radomirești stations, which is an electrified double-track line.
Unavoidable crash
As the Rail Cargo train was leaving Mihăiești station, it reportedly passed by a switch, where some wagons derailed and ended up on the opposite tracks. The collision was unavoidable at that point. The Rail Cargo train was transporting 19 empty wagons, whereas the PIMK train was taking 19 Transcontainer wagons with it.