Human error is the most likely cause of the serious train collision involving two freight trains (Overview)

The most probable cause of the serious train accident between two freight trains near Sofia is believed to be human error.

Two freight trains, one from BDZ (Bulgarian State Railways) and one from a private company, collided on the tracks near Lokorsko, on the line between Kremikovtsi and Svetovrachene.

Two people died and six were injured.

The accident occurred shortly before 4 pm on January 15. The collision of the two freight trains also caused a fire, which has now been extinguished. Firefighters, police teams, and four ambulances arrived at the scene immediately.

According to the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs (SDVR), both trains were traveling on the same track, with the most likely cause being a traffic management error.

• The BDZ train had set off at a red traffic light, the private carrier - owner of one of the crashed trains - claimed

"Two trains—one diesel, the other electric—collided head-on, resulting in two fatalities. One is the driver of one of the trains, and the other is a BDZ employee. Six more people are injured," explained Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov, Director of the SDVR.

One of the trains belongs to the state railways, BDZ, while the other is operated by a private company.

"One train was transporting ferrous metals, and the other was carrying furniture, with the latter being the private train," added Chief Commissioner Nikolov.

• Two killed and six injured in heavy crash between two freight trains near Sofia

The initial hypothesis for the accident points to human error.

"The trains were traveling on the same track, most likely due to an error in traffic management," added the SDVR director.

The owner of the private company also confirmed the human error hypothesis.

"The BDZ train proceeded through a red signal from the opposite station, resulting in a head-on collision between the two trains. We had three drivers on the train; two were in the front locomotive, which was electric. One was at the back of the train, where there was also a locomotive, and he is the other driver. All four of our drivers are safe and alive," explained Iliyan Filipov, the owner of the private train.

• Caretaker Prime Minister Glavchev dismissed Biser Minchev from the post of Deputy Minister of Transport

One of the locomotives caught fire due to the collision. It remains unclear why the protocol for preventing head-on train collisions was not followed.

Photos by BGNES

"Yes, there was a mistake made by the BDZ drivers in proceeding on a red signal, but there was also a major error because there is a procedure to prevent such head-on collisions when someone passes a red signal, and it appears this procedure was not followed by NRIC (National Railway Infrastructure Company). I have warned the caretaker Minister at least 10 times that there is a complete degradation at NRIC right now, and at the stations, people are drinking more than they are working. There is no maintenance of the tracks, nothing, and I warned that an accident might happen. It seems I was unfortunately correct," commented Iliyan Filipov.

Caretaker Transport Minister, Krasimira Stoyanova, has demanded the immediate resignation of Deputy Minister Biser Minchev, responsible for rail transport. Caretaker Prime Minister Glavchev has already dismissed him. Stoyanova has also called for the resignation of Stoyan Stoyanov, the General Director of NRIC, and Hristiyan Krastev, the Head of BDZ-Freight Transport.