Page 10 - Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2023

Annual report 2023
Based on the statutes of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, in 2023 the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure updated the statutes of the Safety Investigation Bureau with his Directive. The statues specifies the rights and obligations established by law, regulates the relations, relationships, tasks of the ESIB. The Safety Investigation Bureau is a structural unit of the Ministry that is independent in conducting safety investigations and making any related decisions. The activities of the ESIB are conducted in accordance with the Ministry’s work schedules unless specified differently by legislation. The ESIB has its own letterhead and its postal address is Tartu maantee 85, 10115 Tallinn. The objective of the ESIB is to organise safety investigations in the relevant field of transport, including the development of legislation regulating its fields of activity and making proposals for changes, participation in the preparation and development of policies, strategies and development plans related to the fields of activity of the ESIB, as well as national and international projects. In fulfilling its main objective and within its framework, the Safety Investigation Bureau cooperates with other institutions, organisations, associations, companies, private individuals and other countries and international organisations.
The Minister approves the list of the employees on the proposal of the Director of the Safety Investigation Bureau. The duties of employees are determined in the job descriptions. The job descriptions are approved by the Director of the Safety Investigation Bureau. Every ESIB employee is responsible for the legal, accurate and timely fulfilment of their duties. The Safety Investigation Bureau Statutes forms a part of the legal framework affecting the work of railway safety investigations.
The Safety Investigation Bureau is functionally independent of the safety authority and the railway regulating authorities. The ESIB’s organisation, legal structure and decision-making process are independent of all parties whose interests might conflict with the duties assigned to it, including railway infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, the charging body, the capacity allocation body, and the conformity assessment body. When conducting a safety investigation, the official responsible for railway accident safety investigations performs the tasks of the investigator-in- charge. Nationally the ESIB’s independence is pursuant to Article 22 of the Directive on Railway Safety 2016/798.
Pursuant to the Directive 2016/798 requirements the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Directive No 72 “Safety Investigation Procedures” has been established for the organisation of safety investigations. The latest revision of this came into force on 06.02.2022. The safety investigation procedures are common to all three ESIB’s areas of transport. Compared to the previous one, there are no changes related to the railway sector in the latest revision. The Directive draws attention to the field-specific exceptions provided in the Aviation Act, the Maritime Safety Act and the Railways Act, the Safety Investigation Bureau organises safety investigations taking these into account. The Directive determines areas of a safety
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