On the night to Saturday, the 24th of February, due to the negligence on behalf of Latvian Railway (LDz), the wagons bearing the logo of the Russian company Rusagrotrans serviced by Baltic Transit Service (BTS) collided with freight cars carried by LDz Cargo and were partially derailed. Freight car brake system was not engaged for some reason, and LDz workers responsible for train marshalling did not respond.
Freight cars and infrastructure was damaged in this incident. People were not injured and no environmental pollution was caused.
On the night to Saturday LDz, as the operator, was performing train car marshalling for BTS when a group of freight cars rolling down from the marshalling yard and collided with a group of freight cars serviced by LDz Cargo.
LDz representatives told LETA that during freight train marshalling the automatic car brake system did not work correctly, which resulted in inappropriate reduction of speed for the freight car group. It is unclear why LDz workers stationed on the marshalling yard did not respond in time.
As BNN was told by a railway worker, “LDz has special technologies to slow down and put cars to a halt.
One brake positions have slowed speed sufficiently, LDz worker puts brake shoes under the wagons, and the car stops completely. This incident indicates that LDz failed to do something to the full extent. BTS brought their cars for marshalling, and they marshalled them – smashed them into LDz Cargo cars”.
According to unofficial information, the cars that were derailed did not contain grains.
Photo: BNNPhotos posted on social media show that the derailed train that carried cars bearing the logo of Russian Rusagrotrans company. According to information available on the company’s website, Rusagrotrans is a railway infrastructure operator engaged in the transportation of agricultural and mineral bulk cargoes using special bunker cars. Since 2021 Rusagrotrans is part of Demetra-Holdings, which is Russia’s biggest grain holding that unites export logistics and commercial assets.
LDz is currently working on cleanup efforts after the incident, as well as investigating what exactly happened. However, it is entirely possible that
LDz’s negligent attitude to the technical condition of the equipment in question could be to blame.
This possibility seems likely when considering the talks procedure “Supply of spare parts for marshalling yard equipment and wagon-slowing equipment”organised by LDz on the 26th of January. The freight car sorting station’s marshalling yard was commissioned eight years ago. This project’s modernisation costs exceeded EUR 40.3 million.
Latvian Railway has a monopoly in Latvia when it comes to train car marshalling. This is a unique and exclusive service provided only by this company. No other company operating in this sector has the right to provide this service in Latvia.
Photo: BNNPhoto: BNNAlso read: Week in Lithuania | Prosecutor seeks extension for Stepukonis’ arrest; Kempinski in Vilnius to be replaced by Hilton
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