Investigation of railroad accidents and incidents
Investigated Accidents and Dangerous Situations
Accidents and dangerous situations subject to investigation include:
- A rail transport accident which, based on the number of fatalities or injuries, or the extent of damage to the environment, property, or assets, or the nature of the accident, must be considered particularly serious (major accident)
- A serious railway accident as defined in Article 3 of the European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2016/798 on railway safety, including:
- A train collision (with another train, a shunting unit, or an obstacle within the rolling stock clearance) or derailment resulting in at least one fatality, or five people being seriously injured, or causing significant damage to rolling stock or the environment (at least €2 million)
- Any other railway accident with comparable consequences that has an evident impact on railway safety (safety regulation or management)
- A level crossing accident involving a train derailment, or causing at least one fatality or five serious injuries among train staff or passengers, if the cause is a failure in the railway system, or which must otherwise be considered particularly serious based on the number of fatalities, injuries, or the extent or nature of the damage
- A personal injury accident caused by rolling stock at stations, rail yards (staff, passengers), or during track maintenance work (staff)
- A rolling stock fire occurring while the rail vehicle is en route from its departure station to its destination, including dwell time at departure, destination, and intermediate stations, as well as shunting at intermediate stations
- Other accidents not mentioned above
In addition, corresponding accidents in other private or public rail transport are investigated, including:
- Metro accidents
- Tram accidents
Under the Safety Investigation Act, a major accident hazard as well as other accidents and dangerous situations may also be investigated. A joint investigation may be conducted for several similar accidents or dangerous situations (thematic investigation).
Safety investigations are conducted to improve safety, prevent accidents and dangerous situations, and mitigate and reduce the damage caused by accidents.
Applicable Legislation
The investigation of rail transport accidents is based on the Safety Investigation Act (525/2011). Railway investigations follow the provisions issued in Chapter V of Directive (EU) 2016/798 on railway safety by the European Parliament and the Council.