Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2024
The investigative unit for railway accidents in Estonia was formed on 31 March 2004 when the Railways Act which came into force on the same day, enforced the legal provisions stipulated in the “Railway Safety Directive” 2004/49/EC. With the formation of the investigation unit of railway accidents at the Crisis Regulation Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications the safety investigations of railway accidents began. Before that, an investigation unit for aviation accidents had already been operating at the Crisis Regulation Department and later, an investigation unit for maritime accidents had been added. Since the safety investigations were only loosely connected to the core function of the Crisis Regulation Department, on 1 January 2012 a new structural unit of the same ministry was created: The Safety Investigation Bureau (ESIB). The ESIB investigates maritime, aviation and railway accidents and incidents.
The last major changes in the organisation of safety investigations of railway accidents and incidents occurred when the provisions of the Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as applied to the Estonian legal area, were enforced in the Railways Act on 31 October 2020. In accordance with the Directive, occurrences considered affecting railway safety in Estonia are accident, serious accident, and incident. Other national legislation is also in line with the requirements of Directive 2016/798, which also forms the basis for conducting a safety investigation. The Safety Investigation Bureau is the only body that has the right to conduct safety investigations. All safety investigations are conducted independently of any other investigation of the same occurrence.
During the year, the Safety Investigation Bureau received reports of safety violations from both railway companies and the Emergency Centre. Initial assessments were carried out for all cases. Materials collected and compiled by both railway infrastructure and transport companies were analysed. The materials are stored in the digital management system Delta. During the year, no occurrence qualified as one for which the ESIB should have opened a safety investigation.