Otłoczyn railway accident
| Date | 19 August 1980 |
|---|---|
| Time | 4:30 a.m. |
| Location | Near Otłoczyn |
| Country | Poland |
| Rail line | Toruń - Łódź |
| Operator | Polish State Railways |
| Type of incident | Collision |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Deaths | 67 |
| Injuries | 64 |
The Otłoczyn railway accident (Polish: Katastrofa kolejowa pod Otłoczynem) was a train wreck which occurred on 19 August 1980, near the village of Otłoczyn (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland). At 4:30 a.m., a freight train collided with a passenger train which ran from Torun Main Station to Łódź Kaliska. As a result, 65 people were killed, and 64 injured, out of which an additional two later died (bringing the total number of dead to 67). It was the biggest railway accident in the post-World War II history of Poland.
In the early morning of 19 August 1980, 43-year-old train engineer Mieczyslaw Roschek from Chojnice was told to drive freight train number 11599 from the station of Otloczyn to nearby Wrocki. Roschek, who was later found guilty of the crash, had been working for 25 hours, which was against rail regulations. According to the management of the Torun Main station, the engineer probably lied about it, stating that he had worked for not more than 8 hours, in order to get extra paid time.
During the night of 18–19 August, Roschek, together with another engineer, Andrzej Bogusz, arrived at the Otloczyn station, driving engine number ST44-607, which belonged to the Chojnice depot. At around 2 a.m., the engine was coupled to a few empty coal freight cars. The train then waited for two hours in a siding in the pine forest between Torun and Wloclawek before departing. Roschek's train was not included in any schedule. Like other trains of this kind, it was supposed to wait for the signal to proceed, which was only given when the track was clear.
On the same night, a local train number 5130 from Torun Main Station to Lodz Kaliska, was scheduled to leave at 3:37 a.m. Driven by engineer Gerard Przyjemski, it consisted of engine SP45-160 and five passenger cars, and it departed several minutes late, waiting for a stopping train from the seaside resort of Kolobrzeg. The Kolobrzeg train had two cars full of children, going back from summer vacation. These cars were connected to the train to Lodz Kaliska as the last ones. The 5130 left Torun Main at 4:19 a.m., almost one hour behind schedule. It quickly gained speed, reaching 88 kilometers per hour.
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