Page 9 - Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2023

Annual report 2023 safety investigation can be organised either jointly or only by one safety investigation
agency. If a railway undertaking established or licensed in another Member State is involved in an occurrence affecting railway safety, and the rolling stock involved in the occurrence is registered or maintained in the same country, the investigation body of that Member State shall be invited to participate in the safety investigation. They will be ensured complete access to all relevant data. If necessary, the European Union Agency for Railways can be asked to cooperate using special expertise without compromising the independence of the safety investigation. The exchange of experiences and opinions with the safety investigation authorities of other member states has been established for the purpose of improving work efficiency and innovative development. Cooperation with third countries is based on a special agreement between countries. The Safety Investigation Bureau participates in the peer review programme as stipulated in the Article of Directive 2016/798.
The Safety Investigation Bureau compiles two different types of reports, the composition of which is specified in Section 55 of the Railways Act “Reports Relating to a Safety Investigation”. A written report of the safety investigation must be completed by the Safety Investigation Bureau in the shortest possible time and published immediately but not later than 12 months after the occurrence. The safety investigation report does not assess anyone’s blame or liability. The safety investigation report is forwarded to all parties involved, such as the railway infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, the safety investigation bodies of other European Union member states, victims and their families, owners and manufacturers of damaged property, Rescue Board, representatives of the employees and passengers and the European Union Agency for Railways. The requirements of the Commission's Implementing Regulation 2020/572 for the content of the report are listed as a summary. The same Section provides the obligation of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, other authorities, businesses, or organisations that were subject to the ESIB’s recommendations, to submit a report to the ESIB annually by the 01 April about the measures taken or planned based on the recommendations made the previous year. Pursuant to the same Section the Safety Investigation Bureau publishes an annual report on the cases investigated in the previous year, the recommendations, and proceedings, on its website by 30 September each year. A copy of the annual report is forwarded to the European Union Agency for Railways.
During the initial assessment of accidents and incidents, it is sometimes appropriate to pay more attention to some cases than usual, but still not to the point of initiating a safety investigation. Depending on requirements, the Safety Investigation Bureau formulates an opinion during the proceedings of such cases and forwards it to the parties involved. The opinion is drawn up based on Appendix R3 of the "Safety Investigation Manual" "Characteristics for adopting a decision to initiate a safety investigation of railway accidents and incidents or formulating an opinion". The opinion does not include recommendations.
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