site.btaUPDATED Train Derails in Central Bulgaria due to Rockslide, Four Injured

Four passengers were injured lightly after a train from Ruse (on the Danube) to Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria) collided with a rockslide on Saturday morning between Tsareva Livada and Tryavna in North Central Bulgaria, the National Railway Infrastructure Company said (NRIC) on Saturday. Train traffic in the section was suspended until Sunday afternoon as repair works were urgently carried out. 

The incident occurred at 8:05 a.m. According to NRIC, the rockslide was caused by adverse weather conditions.

The collision caused the locomotive and the first carriage of the train to derail. There were 65 passengers in the train. Emergency teams from NRIC were sent immediately to the scene of the incident to assess the situation.

Tryavna Municipality confirmed the incident and specified that the train derailed about one kilometre from the village of Staynovtsi.

A diesel locomotive was dispatched from Gorna Oryahovitsa to pull the carriages to the Tsareva Livada station. From there, passengers were transported by buses to Dabovo station. Bus transportation was also arranged for passengers from other trains affected by the disrupted railway traffic in the area.

On Sunday evening, the Railway Infrastructure National Company reported that traffic has been restored. Earlier in the day, a BTA reporter saw that the locomotive was already off the tracks and workers were reconstructing the railway section, part of the fourth main line of Bulgarian State Railways. The larger part of the rocks, which caused the incident, were removed as well, but part of the rockslide remained on the protective structure along the tracks. 

According to Eng. Boycho Skrobanski, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the National Board for Aircraft, Maritime and Railway Accident Investigation under the Transport Ministry, it is necessary to strengthen oversight and implement systematic and routine measures focused on the condition of the railway infrastructure. The expert told journalists on the site of the incident Saturday that he finds it concerning that two similar incidents have occurred within 24 hours. 

He also highlighted the specific risks along the route. According to him, in the two most recent incidents, the trains were in close proximity to hazardous areas - rock formations and bodies of water. In this context, Skrobanski raised the issue of the condition and maintenance of protective structures along the railway infrastructure.

On April 3, a passenger train derailed between the Dabovo and Raduntsi stations in Stara Zagora Region (Central Bulgaria) due to rocks on the tracks. The train struck the rocks, causing the locomotive and two of the cars to derail. No passengers were injured in the incident.