Author: Ilona Bērziņa/Opinion piece
The derailment of freight cars at the Marshalling B Yard once again suggests there is a mess in Latvian Railway (LDz) and that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing. Fortunately, there were no dangerous chemicals and the like in those freight cars. Even more fortunate is the fact that no one was injured in this incident.
But this isn’t the only story involving negligence on the part of LDz, there is also the matter with the unfinished train stop modernisation project and millions-worth of lost EU funding.
Railway infrastructure is an integral part of Latvia’s national security system. This is why the state company – Latvian Railway – has a duty to make sure this infrastructure is properly maintained (especially in the current geopolitical situation) and functions as perfectly as as Swiss wristwatch. In reality, however, we hear that maintenance of this infrastructure is EUR 70 million short. And this shortage will have to be covered from the state budget. LDz already has problems with its massive passenger infrastructure modernisation project – it should be finished by now, but it’s not. The drought with freight volumes has directly and heavily impacted LDz’s finances. However, at least in this case the company is not to blame, because most of the funding – EUR 37 million – is provided by Europe. So what does all this have to do with the recent derailment of freight cars at the marshalling yard? It is directly related to this. In both cases this is about negligence and a complete mess of things there.
LDz says the brakes didn’t engage for whatever reason, and freight cars started rolled down from the hill and crashed into a different set of freight cars.
But shouldn’t technologies like that be tested every now and then to exclude the possibility of such “malfunctions”? If LDz positions itself as the sole company in Latvia with the right to perform marshalling services, it is their duty to ensure this system functions perfectly, not just wait for the next grant from the state. Although the guilty party will be found, we still have to ask how bad the consequences could have been if the brake system malfunctioned for freight cars carrying actually dangerous substances.
The other question concerns the EUR 20 million of EU funds LDz had lost because of foolishness with efforts to modernise around 48 train stops.
There is hope for money from the new EU budget, but we still need to get it. However, if it was initially planned to complete the project within two years (the contract was signed in 2021), then how can it be that only two (!) of those train stops were temporarily commissioned by the end of last year? On top of that, delays with his project’s implementation is not the only hurdle. LDz also had to involve its employees in construction work. Equipment was leased from LDz as well, which is something EU regulations do not allow. If the management of LDz failed to notice that Europe would not pay double, then such a small problem with freight car brakes at the marshalling yard might go completely unnoticed. Until the moment when freight cars went off the rails… All this implies LDz has no idea who is responsible for all this, who is supposed to report to who and whose head should “roll” if something goes wrong.
It will be interesting to observe the response from Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens – will he pretend the derailment of a couple of train cars from the marshalling yard is some small error, or will he ask for explanations from the state company? Another open question is who should take responsibility for the delays with modernisation of existing train stops – only the contracted construction workers or the board and council of LDz as well, especially considering the fact that there is no way they could not have known about this massive project being put on hold?
LDz will find the ones to blame for the derailment – it could be some rank and file worker or even an actual mechanical malfunction no one expected. And here is where we need to ask minister Briškens – will the company responsible for maintaining infrastructure critical to Latvia’s national security receive increased attention from the minister or will everything end like always – without any consequences or changes?
Also read: PHOTO: LDz negligence or intentional sabotage? Who is to blame for freight car derailment
Follow us on Facebook and X!