Slovakia - various railway incidents, merged topics and posts

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx882q4x7zdo

[Image from here is not available to guests]

At least five people have been killed after an international express train collided with a bus on a level crossing in southern Slovakia, emergency workers say.

The accident happened near the town of Nove Zamky, about 80km east of the capital Bratislava, according to an emergency services Facebook post.

News agencies are reporting that at least five others were injured in the incident, which happened at around 17:00 local time (16:00 BST).

Media reports say the bus was sliced in two by the impact, and photos show the locomotive on fire and passengers walking to safety along the tracks.

"I am afraid the number of people killed in this accident might grow," Petra Klimesova, a spokeswoman of the rescue services, told AFP.

Railway spokeswoman Vladimira Bahylova told the news agency the driver of the train "suffered burns because the locomotive caught on fire".

Local media published video footage of passengers carrying luggage alongside a train partially in flames, as thick grey smoke rose to the sky.

According to unconfirmed Slovak media reports, the level crossing had lights and barriers but these had been left out of action by a recent storm.

Slovak Railways has not commented on the claims.

The train - described as the EuroCity 279 from Prague to Budapest - collided with a bus operated by Arriva.

Five ambulances and three air ambulances were dispatched to the scene, emergency services said.

[Mark A]

Slovakia, two passenger services, opposite directions, on the same line. You may need a translation services for the following.

Mark

https://www.noviny.sk/slovensko/1144088-vlaky-sa-tesne-vyhli-zrazke-pri-liptovskom-hradku-zastali-len-par-metrov-od-seba

[matth1j]

...and turn down/off your speakers if you're at work

[Witham Bobby]

Nasty situation, and very fortunate that a disaster did not occur.  A mid-country meet is the worst kind of railway nightmare

But, how lovely the passenger accommodation looks, compared to the average GB^▸ (Great Britain) sardine can

[Red Squirrel]

Gosh, from the subject I thought someone had taken a selfie with Daniela Vojtasová...

[Mark A]

Apologies, I'll attempt to modify the thread subject line with some punctuation.

Mark

Update: oops, didn't work, or at least didn't propagate down the thread.

[grahame]

Apologies, I'll attempt to modify the thread subject line with some punctuation.

Mark

Update: oops, didn't work, or at least didn't propagate down the thread.

I think you can do it by moving the thread twice - to another board and back - where one of the options is to change all subject. CfN is the expert at doing such things ... 

It does give rise to the question "which beauty queen are you closest to" .. I offer you Mrs Africa 2006 who now lives in Melksham, Wiltshire, England and sits on the Town Council.    Definition of the word "closest" is an interesting one - living in the same town is how you should read it.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I think you can do it by moving the thread twice - to another board and back - where one of the options is to change all subject. CfN is the expert at doing such things ... 

Yes, that's how I do it: now done here.

[LiskeardRich]

Translation

Another train accident could have happened on the railway line between Liptovský Mikuláš and Liptovský Hrádok today (December 9). A freight train found itself on the track on which an express train was traveling at the time. Both colossuses were heading towards each other. When they stopped, they were separated by about 20 meters.

The train drivers knew about each other well in advance, which was also confirmed to us by the passengers. The Slovak Railways are not commenting on how such an extremely dangerous situation could have happened. The passengers on the express train received a voucher for refreshments worth 1.5 euros from the carrier. Some used it, others did not hide their indignation.
The trains stopped just a few meters apart.
At the critical moment, according to available information, both trains stopped only 20 to 30 meters apart. Ján Baček, a spokesman for the Slovak Railway Company (ZSSK), told TASR that train Ex 609 managed to safely stop in front of the oncoming freight train.  According to Baček, the circumstances of the case are related to the management of train traffic within the competence of the railway infrastructure manager.

"Immediately after this situation arose, measures were taken to prevent the potential consequences of this extraordinary event. Both trains were stopped approximately 20 meters apart," ŽSR^▸ (Southern Railway / Southern Region / Scot Rail / Scottish Region (rather confusing - it depends on the context)) stated, adding that from 12:45 p.m., operation was resumed on the 2nd track and the cause of the event is under investigation.

The police have launched a criminal investigation.
"No one was injured. The train drivers underwent a breath test with a negative result. The authorized officer of the Railway Police Department of the Vrútky Police Force initiated criminal prosecution for the offense of general endangerment," informs the Police of the Slovak Republic.
Take a look at the footage from the scene of the dramatic situation. The trains managed to stop right next to each other:

[Witham Bobby]

It does give rise to the question "which beauty queen are you closest to" .. I offer you Mrs Africa 2006 who now lives in Melksham, Wiltshire, England and sits on the Town Council.    Definition of the word "closest" is an interesting one - living in the same town is how you should read it.

Well, my daughter was Miss Staffordshire in 2017 and was a Miss England finalist at Stockport that year.  Does that count?

Her then employer, West Midlands Ambulance Service, had pictures of her in paramedic uniform, high heels and a tiara out on social media

Miss England by then was not a "simple" "beauty pagent" contest.  The judges wanted more than good looks

Something you don't ever imagine, when you first become a parent

[Chris from Nailsea]

In the interests of continuity here on the Coffee Shop forum, I have now moved a couple of topics and merged them here - while retaining their original headings.

Wow! I'm becoming something of a wizard at this.