PRAGUE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 634 accidents occurred on Czech railways in the first six months of this year, 15 percent more than the same period a year ago, according to the latest statistics from the Czech Railway Safety Inspection Office (DI).
March was the worst month with 117 accidents. Of them, the most serious one was the collision of two trains in Brno in early March, in which 23 people were injured and the damage was over half a million crowns, according to the Czech News Agency report on Saturday.
Due to the rising number of accidents, both the state administration and the national railway operator Czech Railways (CD) have introduced some new measures, for example, the CD has intensified routine checks of engine drivers and the state has started preparing a new point system which will punish engine drivers for frequent errors.
The state is also preparing to improve monitoring of the engine drivers' leisure time to prevent them from working for a different rail operator instead of having a compulsory rest.
In the meantime, the number of accidents at the level crossings, such as collision of train with cars, people or other barriers, also increased. There were 92 accidents of this kind in the first half of this year, 11 percent more than a year ago. 13 people died in these accidents.
This year, the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SZDC) invested millions of crowns in the safety of level crossings. By the end of this year, the number of gates will be 132 out of the 164 level crossings on the first-class roads that are now equipped with lights or other warning signals only.
It plans to install gates on almost all level crossings on the first-class roads in the Czech Republic by 2023.
