2009 Rudine train derailment
Encyclopedia
The Rudine derailment was a train derailment that happened on July 24, 2009 at 10:08 GMT near the village of Rudine
in southern Croatia
, on the Zagreb
-Split
railway line. The derailment site is located on the slopes of Kozjak
at 43.570115°N 16.311307°E (estimated). The accident caused the deaths of 6 people, and 55 have been injured.
Croatian media say that this is the worst railway accident to have occurred in independent Croatia to date, adding that if the train had derailed into a ravine 30 m ahead, the death toll could have been much higher.
of the RegioSwinger
type derailed at 10:08 GMT (12:08 local time) near the village of Rudine, around 30 km (18.6 mi) from its destination. The front carriage hit the sides of a cut through a hillside twice, before breaking apart from the second impact. According to Croatian news reports, the cause of the derailment was slippery fire retardant
that was just sprayed on a steep downhill section of the track, a normal practice in extreme summer heat but executed improperly using a new chemical. With brakes ineffective, the train gained a speed higher than the track configuration could handle and derailed.
On July 27, 2009, a cleaning operation on the 11 km (6.8 mi) stretch of railroad between the stations Kaštel Stari and Labin Dalmatinski begun, but was stopped within an hour because of a new discovery important for the investigation. The cleaning teams followed the fire retardant supplier's directions and washed the tracks with hot water. However, the cleaning supervisor quickly noticed that while most of the retardant washed off, a yellow-brown film of an unknown slippery substance remained on the tracks. A sample of the substance was taken as evidence and sent to Zagreb for chemical analysis. According to the TG-300 retardant description, it is an "aqueous based resin liquid penetrate" but its exact composition is unpublished. Three days after this accident, the fire retardant manufacturer added a warning "do not spray on tracks" to their TG-300 web site.
. Two people who played the most important role with purchase and application of the retardant were, by the order of new HŽ Infrastructure director, put on suspension and subsequently fired from the company.
Sixteen of the total of 55 injured passengers had remained in treatment in the Split central hospital for several weeks. The driver, Josip Palinić was discharged after his physical injuries were treated, and was not charged with any wrongdoing by the police. Criminal charges were brought upon Ivan Medak, the chief of ecology of HŽ Infrastruktura, Drago Rogulj, chief of the fire department of HŽ Split, Ivan Tomašković, the director of Intrade, Jozo Bazina, Intrade employee, and Branko Tišljar, a fireman involved in the spreading of the fire retardant. Croatian police continued to investigate and reveal the circumstances of the obtainment as well as application of the fire retardant, prompting widespread consternation in the Croatian press and public regarding the state of management and mishandling of public tenders in the Croatian Railways.
After recovering the wreckage from the site and needed track repair, the traffic was resumed on August 2, 2009 at 20:00 GMT for freight traffic only, while the scheduled passenger service resumed the day after on August 3, 2009 at 4:00 GMT.
On April 13, 2010, the County Attorney in Split indicted Ivan Medak, Ivan Tomašković, Jozo Bazina, Drago Rogulj and Branko Tišljar in court on criminal charges of premeditated general gross negligence
with fatal consequences. If found guilty, this could result in sentence of three to fifteen years in jail.
Rudine
Rudine is a village in the municipality of Čajetina, western Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 159 people.-References:...
in southern Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, on the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
-Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
railway line. The derailment site is located on the slopes of Kozjak
Mali Kozjak
Kozjak, also known as Mali Kozjak or Primorski Kozjak is a mountain located above the town of Kaštela in Dalmatia, Croatia....
at 43.570115°N 16.311307°E (estimated). The accident caused the deaths of 6 people, and 55 have been injured.
Croatian media say that this is the worst railway accident to have occurred in independent Croatia to date, adding that if the train had derailed into a ravine 30 m ahead, the death toll could have been much higher.
Details
The accident happened when the two-carriage tilting trainTilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
of the RegioSwinger
RegioSwinger
The RegioSwinger is a tilting Diesel Multiple Unit passenger train used for fast regional traffic on unelectrified lines.- Development and Service :...
type derailed at 10:08 GMT (12:08 local time) near the village of Rudine, around 30 km (18.6 mi) from its destination. The front carriage hit the sides of a cut through a hillside twice, before breaking apart from the second impact. According to Croatian news reports, the cause of the derailment was slippery fire retardant
Fire retardant
A fire retardant is a substance other than water that reduces flammability of fuels or delays their combustion. This typically refers to chemical retardants but may also include substances that work by physical action, such as cooling the fuels; examples of these include fire-fighting foams and...
that was just sprayed on a steep downhill section of the track, a normal practice in extreme summer heat but executed improperly using a new chemical. With brakes ineffective, the train gained a speed higher than the track configuration could handle and derailed.
Investigation
From the very beginning of the rescue operation, the initial investigation was focused on the fire retardant that was sprayed on the railroad approximately 10 minutes before the derailment. Investigators were suspicious about traction on the tracks because the rescue train, which was ironically the same railway service vehicle that supported spraying of the fire retardant, suffered a loss of braking and derailed at the same location as the passenger train.On July 27, 2009, a cleaning operation on the 11 km (6.8 mi) stretch of railroad between the stations Kaštel Stari and Labin Dalmatinski begun, but was stopped within an hour because of a new discovery important for the investigation. The cleaning teams followed the fire retardant supplier's directions and washed the tracks with hot water. However, the cleaning supervisor quickly noticed that while most of the retardant washed off, a yellow-brown film of an unknown slippery substance remained on the tracks. A sample of the substance was taken as evidence and sent to Zagreb for chemical analysis. According to the TG-300 retardant description, it is an "aqueous based resin liquid penetrate" but its exact composition is unpublished. Three days after this accident, the fire retardant manufacturer added a warning "do not spray on tracks" to their TG-300 web site.
Aftermath
Police brought to the interview responsible people from the HŽ supply office as well as the responsible people from the company that had imported retardant. Director of HŽ Infrastructure, a company within HŽ Holding, and two of his associates were removed from their positions by the act of the Minister of Transport Božidar KalmetaBožidar Kalmeta
Božidar Kalmeta is a Croatian politician, currently serving as Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure in the Croatian Government .-Early life:He graduated in 1982 from the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Agronomy.From 1982 to 1993 he...
. Two people who played the most important role with purchase and application of the retardant were, by the order of new HŽ Infrastructure director, put on suspension and subsequently fired from the company.
Sixteen of the total of 55 injured passengers had remained in treatment in the Split central hospital for several weeks. The driver, Josip Palinić was discharged after his physical injuries were treated, and was not charged with any wrongdoing by the police. Criminal charges were brought upon Ivan Medak, the chief of ecology of HŽ Infrastruktura, Drago Rogulj, chief of the fire department of HŽ Split, Ivan Tomašković, the director of Intrade, Jozo Bazina, Intrade employee, and Branko Tišljar, a fireman involved in the spreading of the fire retardant. Croatian police continued to investigate and reveal the circumstances of the obtainment as well as application of the fire retardant, prompting widespread consternation in the Croatian press and public regarding the state of management and mishandling of public tenders in the Croatian Railways.
After recovering the wreckage from the site and needed track repair, the traffic was resumed on August 2, 2009 at 20:00 GMT for freight traffic only, while the scheduled passenger service resumed the day after on August 3, 2009 at 4:00 GMT.
On April 13, 2010, the County Attorney in Split indicted Ivan Medak, Ivan Tomašković, Jozo Bazina, Drago Rogulj and Branko Tišljar in court on criminal charges of premeditated general gross negligence
Gross negligence
Gross negligence is a legal concept which means serious carelessness. Negligence is the opposite of diligence, or being careful. The standard of ordinary negligence is what conduct one expects from the proverbial "reasonable person"...
with fatal consequences. If found guilty, this could result in sentence of three to fifteen years in jail.