A freight train derailed and collided with another freight train on Wednesday between Mihăiești and Radomirești stations in Olt County, Romania, resulting in one fatality. The crash occurred outside CFR Mihăești station, near Caracal and has led to a full suspension of rail traffic in the area. Authorities have activated the Red Intervention Plan to manage the emergency response.
According to initial reports, the accident happened after several carriages of a freight train carrying automobiles derailed and ended up on an adjacent track. A train operated by the Bulgarian company PIMK was traveling along this track and collided with the derailed wagons. The deceased was identified as the Romanian conductor of the PIMK train.
This incident follows another railway accident in the same section just two days earlier, when a passenger train carriage caught fire due to an electrical short circuit. While the wagon was destroyed, all passengers evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported.
The Employers' Organization of Private Railway Companies in Romania issued a statement following the crash, criticizing the poor state of the country’s railway infrastructure:
"The chronic lack of maintenance funds, combined with the negligence and disinterest of the authorities, has turned train travel into a real lottery with the lives of citizens. Against the backdrop of poor infrastructure, not a day goes by without an accident on the railways and number of accidents in rail transport has increased alarmingly," the organization said.
Romania has one of the highest railway accident rates in the European Union. According to the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), the country recorded approximately 140 railway incidents in 2023, with several resulting in fatalities. The primary causes cited include outdated infrastructure, technical failures, human error, and inadequate signaling systems.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the collision, and updates will follow as more details emerge.
