"Railway accidents, on the increase" (!?)08-17-2009 17:28  This cross-heading, which appeared Saturday, August 15, in "Evenimentul Zilei", on the page describing the catastrophe which occurred at the level crossing at Scânteia railway station, involving a mini bus, is not very correct. The accident was caused by the driver of the mini bus, who didn't observe the warning signs which indicated "No crossing", because a train was about to pass. This is the general rule all over the world. At level crossings, the safety installations, whether they are barriers or semi-barriers, light or sound signals or the well-known "Andrei's Cross", forces the drivers in traffic to acknowledge them and do as they indicate. Otherwise, the consequences can be catastrophic, just like the accident at Scânteia. However, irrespective of the consequences, the accident which occurs is a road accident, not a railway accident, even though the collision was with a train. In these situations, the train is also a victim, and not a cause.
The article presented in "Evenimentul Zilei" stated clearly and correctly that "the tragedy which occurred at Scânteia is the most serious road accident in the last two years, which also involved trains". Then why the cross-heading? Is it possible that they want to redirect the public's attention?
We regretfully mention that, in 2008, the accidents which occurred on the Romanian roads resulted in over 3000 victims and more than 9000 seriously injured people, while the railways made a single victim, at Valea Calugărească. The balance is obviously tilted in favour of the railways.
On the other hand, we have to admit that the Romanian railway system cannot be compared to other, more advanced, systems in Europe from many points of view. The fact that the Romanian railways have been, for many years, neglected and the modernisation works were not made in due time led to a non-attractive railway network, thus losing, for a period, the competition with the road transport system, especially in terms of travel time.
But now is not the time to discuss about the situation of the railway system.
The tragedy which occurred at Scânteia forces us to reflect on the direct causes of the accident, which are very clear: the driver of the mini bus is guilty, but especially on the environment, the entire system and the institutional framework which facilitates the occurrence of such catastrophes.
Here are a few areas which should be investigated by the authorities.
Let's start with the way in which driver licenses are obtained. Only foolish people can believe that the "Pitești system" is an isolated case. What psycho-technical exams should one take and how exigent should they be for a driver who wants to obtain a driver license category D for passenger transport? What experience and what qualities should such a driver have in order to gain the right to transport passengers? What are the regulations related to suburban or inter-county passenger transport?
In "Evenimentul Zilei" from August 16 we can read that "Passenger transport between counties is like a village with no dogs" and that "there are three institutions that regulate inter-county transport: the County Council (CJ), the Romanian Road Authority (RRA) and the Police". Apparently, there are institutions that have to control the observance of these regulations. However, the reality seems to be different!
Why don't we try to apply the regulations on suburban passenger transport that have been successfully implemented in the urban agglomerations and suburban areas from developed countries in Europe (Austria, Germany, France, etc.) and where the authorities managed to solve this problem by organising all the subsystems in an integrated public suburban passenger transport system (ÖPNV), which includes, aside from the urban systems, the railways and bus transport with single transport titles, pre-established tariffs and timetables?
In Romania, however, there seem to be various groups which are interested in not regulating such a system and even more sad is the fact that they seem to benefit from the support of several decision-makers. How would they earn so much money if the State doesn't receive its cut? The budget is very much affected by this evasion, but there are others who benefit from it!
Maybe this explains why the law which establishes the authority for public transport in the cities and their metropolitan areas hasn't been finalized until now.
Let's hope that the tragedy which occurred at Scânteia will force the authorities to "take the bull by its horns".
Photo: AGERPRES Octavian Udriște
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