Europese commissie ontkent schuld treinramp België (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has strongly refuted accusations made by Belgian train officials partly blaming community requirements for Monday's train disaster, which killed at least 18 people and injured 171.
"We've read comments in the press this morning with some surprise, because they do call into question European safety rules. At this stage, we don't really understand these comments. We don't see that they are founded on evidence," Helen Kearns, spokeswoman for the transport commissioner, said Tuesday (16 February) during a press briefing.
She added that it was not productive at this stage to engage in a "blame game" with the Belgian authorities.
Belgian railroad chief Marc Descheemaecker on Monday night alluded to EU requirements when explaining why there was a certain delay in equipping all trains with an automatic brake system that stops the train on crossing a red light.
"That cannot be done over night," he said, adding that the Belgian railway company SNCB had only installed that system on a third of its trains and expected to finish the process by 2013.
Commission experts pointed to the fact that the harmonisation process of 20-odd different signalisation systems across the EU is aimed at increasing rail road safety. So far, it is only mandatory for international trains. The high-speed Eurostar, for instance, uses seven different signaling systems across Belgium, France and Great Britain.
The two trains that collided head-on after one apparently ignored the red light were on a regional track, however, which did not require the EU system.
An investigation into the causes of the accident has been launched and could take weeks or even months, Belgian authorities say.
The driver of the train that went through the red light survived, after he jumped out of the cabin briefly before collision. Prosecutors are waiting for his recovery in order to question him about the circumstances of the crash. The other driver did not survive the crash.
Prosecutors were also able to recover the two black boxes embedded in the cabins of the trains, which may indicate the speed and whether the drivers respected the signals.
Meanwhile, high-speed trains connecting Brussels to London and Paris remained cancelled on Tuesday and the SNCB announced that disruptions would continue throughout the week, as the repair works could only start after investigators had finished gathering probes.
Several train conductors and controllers went on strike on Tuesday in protest over dangerous working conditions.