Safety investigations in Estonia have been conducted since 31 March 2004 when the legal provisions stipulated in the “Railway Safety Directive” 2004/49/EC came into force within the Railways Act approved by the Parliament. At that time the safety investigation unit of railway accidents started work at the Crisis Regulation Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Before that, an investigation unit for aviation accidents had already been operating at the Crisis Regulation Department for several years. Later, an investigation unit for maritime accidents started work at the same department. With this, a single structure for safety investigations of the three transport areas was created in Estonia. Legally safety investigations were only loosely connected to the core function of the Crisis Regulation Department.

PRESS RELEASE! The railway safety campaign Let the train pass! You’re expected home for Christmas. On Monday 05 December, the traditional railway safety campaign Let the train pass! You are expected home for Christmas, will start, which aims to remind people of the need to be very attentive when crossing the railway during the busy…

During the year the Safety Investigation Bureau received 8 verbal accident notifications of accidents. This does not include known suicides or suicide attempts which, as premeditated acts by one of the parties, are not classed as accidents. In addition, a verbal initial notification was received of 5 incidents which were all track breakages. Of the accidents, 4 were level crossing accidents, the rest were classified by individual cases.

Preface to the report Pursuant to the European Parliament and Council Railway Safety Directive 2004/49/EC safety investigations into railway accidents have been carried out in Estonia since 31 March 2004. On 1 January 2012 safety investigations of the three different transport sectors were centralised into a unified Safety Investigation Bureau, a unit of the Ministry…

Launch by UIC, LDz and OLE of the 8th edition of ILCAD, International Level Crossing Awareness Day, 10 June in Riga (Latvia), 11 June 2016 in Tallinn (Estonia)   (Paris/Riga/Tallinn, 9 June 2016) On 10 and 11 June, the UIC, the worldwide railway association, the international rail community and many partners from the road sector as well…

(Geneva/Tallinn/Paris, 3 May 2016) IRU, the International Union of Railways (UIC) and Operation Lifesaver Estonia (OLE) published a Level Crossing Safety flyer on 3 May 2016 to raise awareness of professional drivers and reduce related accidents at this key interface between road and rail infrastructure.  Using a level crossing is safe as long as users…

NPO Operation Lifesaver Estonia (OLE) dealing with railway safety with its cooperation partners remind again to our fellow citizens that everybody should be vigilant while crossing railways and make sure that there are no trains approaching. OLE leads the campaign already for 12th time and this year it is organised between December 15 and 26. The…

Press release: Launch by UIC and TCDD of the 7th edition of ILCAD, International Level Crossing Awareness Day, 3 June 2015, Istanbul, Turkey (Paris, 2 June 2015)– On 3 June, the UIC, the international rail community and many partners from the road sector as well as a number of international institutions will be holding the…

Press Release OLE’s gratitude event “Golden Level Crossing Gates 2015” recognised the work of persons and organisations involved in promoting railway safety. On Wednesday, 29 April 2015, was held another “Golden Level Crossing Gates” event that acknowledged the efforts of organisations and persons in the field of railway safety. The honorary medals and letters of…

Press Release: The railway safety campaign “Take off your headphones and let the train pass!“ reminds people that wearing headphones while crossing railways makes you considerably less attentive to what is happening around you. The nation-wide railway safety week will be held in Estonia on April 27 – May 3, 2015 with the message “Take…