Tragic accident in Pardubice

On 5 June 2024 at 22.49 h, a head-on collision occurred at the Pardubice hl. n. (main) station between trains RJ 1021 Praha hl. n. - Košice - Čop of RegioJet and Nex 41340 Bratislava - Bremerhaven of ČD Cargo. Four people died and 22 others were injured in the accident. The total damage was estimated at more than 110 million CZK (around 4.5 million UER), of them on a freight train 50 million CZK, on a passenger train 60 million CZK and on a track 300,000 CZK.

According to the findings of the Drážní inspekce (DI, Railway Inspectorate) at the scene of the accident, train RJ 1021 with TRAXX 388.205 passed the signal at danger and ran into the train path of a freight train with locomotive 363.529. "Whether it was a technical fault, human error or a combination of both factors is the subject of a detailed investigation and specific conclusions cannot be predicted. The Railway inspectorate is also looking into the circumstances of the incident and the contributing factors, so its investigation will take several months." The operation was completely interrupted until approx. 07.30 h on 6 June, after which it was resumed on one track. 

The long-term reconstruction of the Pardubice station is almost complete, the final works are underway and a festive event was held on 31 May 2024 to mark the occasion. ETCS is scheduled to be put into operation here in mid-November this year (with ETCS-only operation from 1 January 2025), so the existing ATP is still in operation, albeit with limited functionality in view of this temporary situation. 

The accident took place directly at the new Pardubice centrum stop (which is not part of the main tracks on the corridor), which is due to be put into operation with passengers on Sunday, 9 June.