Poland investigates fatal train collision at railway crossing

A fatal collision occurred at a railway crossing in Sokolniki Suche near Przysucha when a truck entered the tracks at approximately 40 km/h despite a red light. The truck collided with the PKP Intercity “Koziołek” train, which was traveling from Lublin to Szczecin. The impact caused the locomotive and the first two carriages to derail.

The accident resulted in the death of a 39-year-old female passenger and left eight people hospitalized in Radom, Kielce, and Opoczno. Both the truck driver and the train driver are in serious condition. Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Piotr Malepszak stated that the driver appears to have completely disregarded the signaling.

In response to such incidents, Polish authorities are working to expand the “Red Light” automated enforcement system. Currently, the system overseen by the Centre for Automated Road Traffic Supervision (CANARD) operates at only a limited number of locations. Plans are underway to integrate existing PKP monitoring cameras into the system, which could extend automated oversight to over 2,000 railway crossings to increase penalties for traffic violations.