Page 21 - Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2023

Annual report 2023 notification to the ESIB in the agreed format within three working days of the initial
notification. The written notice contains the location of the occurrence, specified, and verified factual details about the rolling stock, casualties, victims, and measures taken. In addition, it contains a short summary of the occurrence and the causes that have been established by the time the notice was drawn up. A written report with additional information about the incident will also be made within three working days in an agreed format if the ESIB requests it. The incident report is similar in content to the accident notification. All written documents received by the ESIB are systematically stored within the digital document management system Delta as part of the ancillary services.
Over the years of cooperation, a pragmatic and rational agreement has developed with the undertakings and that enables the safety investigator to be notified faster without needlessly burdening the ESIB 24-hour emergency phone line. The railway infrastructure manager is immediately informed of any railway accidents and incidents through its internal information channels. He forwards the notification by phone to the official dealing with safety investigations of railway accidents. It is not practical to use an intermediate link in the form of a helpline telephone since occurrences affecting railway safety are rare. In addition, the official dealing with the safety investigation of railway accidents must give his assessment to the received notification anyway. Information is relayed to the helpline if the caller does not know the phone number of the official conducting the safety investigation. Since 2004, this has only happened a few times. The official dealing with safety investigations of railway accidents acknowledges the initial notification, assesses the circumstances, asks additional questions, and if necessary, requests clarification of any circumstances and takes note of the initial notification. In accordance with the Railways Act and the safety investigation manual, the official dealing with the safety investigation makes an initial assessment of the occurrence and makes a proposal to the Director of the ESIB either to initiate a safety investigation or not. If gathering necessary additional information requires more time, the official makes a proposal to the Director of the ESIB to defer the decision of initiating an investigation. The decision about a requirement to visit the scene is based on the verbal notification. If based on the initial verbal notification the occurrence turns out to be a serious accident, the official notifies the Director of the Safety Investigation Bureau immediately by telephone, in other cases an email is sufficient. The official responsible of conducting investigations of railway accidents maintains records of notifications received. He collects and stores concentrated information as a table in his database. If necessary, the official conducting the safety investigation and the ESIB Director keep in regular contact to clarify the initial circumstances. The Director’s position on whether to initiate a safety investigation is final and binding to the official dealing with the railway accident investigations.
The decision whether to initiate an investigation of an accident, serious accident or incident is made within two months after receiving notification of the occurrence. The
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