Page 5 - Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2023

1. Introduction to the Investigation Body
1.1 Legal basis
The "Railway Safety Directive" 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and the Council was applied to the legal space of Estonia on 31 March 2004 when the new version of the Railways Act came into force. From this date, a railway accident investigation unit was established in the Crisis Regulation Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The task of the investigation unit was organising independent safety investigations of railway traffic accidents and incidents.
A single multimodal structural unit - the Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau (ESIB) – was formed on 1 January 2012 when investigation units for maritime, aviation and railway accidents operating in the Crisis Management Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications were merged. Legally, the formation of the ESIB was confirmed by amendments to the Aviation Act, Maritime Safety Act and Railways Act. Legal basis for the Safety Investigation Bureau as a whole has been provided in the Aviation Act. Each Act listed provides the legal basis and regulates the safety investigations of the relevant field.
The latest major changes related to safety investigation in the Railways Act came into force on 31 October 2020. In it the Directive (EU) 2016/798 of May 11, 2016, of the European Parliament and of the Council about railway safety has been applied to the Estonian legal space. Estonian legislation is in line with the meaning of the directive. Later changes to the legislation have not been related to the organisation of safety investigations.
Currently Section 2 of the Railways Act titled "Safety investigation" is dedicated to the safety investigations of railway accidents. Here you will find a comprehensive treatment of the entire topic of the safety investigation, which is contained in nine sections (sections 47 - 55).
Section 47 of the Act “Safety Investigation Bureau“, establishes that the ESIB, a structural unit of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, conducts safety investigations of accidents, serious accidents, and incidents. The ESIB is independent in conducting safety investigations and making any related decisions and is guided only by legal acts and other legislation and any international treaties 5
Annual report 2023