Hundreds of Prague inhabitants take a daily risk while crossing railway tracks

11.08.2016

Prague, 11 August 2016 – Today, the two day preventive safety event ”Taking risks? You will pay!“ organised by Správa železniční dopravní cesty (the Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration) and the Czech Police ended. This project, gradually continuing throughout all regions of the Czech Republic, concentrated this time on the capital of Prague with the objective of drawing passengers’ attention to the fact that they commit a transgression by crossing railway tracks.

After Liberec, Pardubice and Hradec Králové Region, we controlled reckless passengers in Prague this time. The objective of controls being carried out on 10 – 11 August was not only repression but especially public education. Many people are still not aware that by crossing tracks they break valid laws and risk a fine up to CZK 10,000. On the first day, policemen dealt with transgressions by form of reprimand only; on 11 August they already imposed fines.

Only during 30 minutes of this event duration at Praha Veleslavín Station, policemen controlled 20 passengers which cut across tracks on their way to the Prague Metro although they could be clearly seen by passengers at a distance of several dozens of metres. The biggest surprise for them was a young man approximately twenty years old with headphones looking on the ground. As he was listening to music he did not hear their warning and they managed to stop him only by directly blocking his way. Some people were aware that they committed transgressions; other argued that people walked here every day, that they were paying attention and nothing could happen to them.

"Such behaviour is very dangerous. People often do not realise that at such speeds, a train runs almost 50 metres in 2 seconds only", said Lt. Ondřej Penc, Prague Police Prevention Coordinator.

During both days when policemen were patrolling at railway stations Praha - Veleslavín, Praha – Vršovice and Praha – Dejvice, they checked two hundreds of reckless passengers. Dozens of others thought better of crossing tracks when they saw police patrols.

”Reckless passengers cutting across tracks on their way are risking their lives. A regular passenger train running at a speed of 80 kph will be stopping over a distance of three hundred metres even while using all braking means available and on ideal adhesion conditions. Everybody should think over if these few minutes spared in this way are really so important “, says Mr. Pavel Surý, Director General of SŽDC.

On selected sections where people cross track the most, SŽDC in cooperation with the Czech Police carries out regular controls which should have a preventive effect. Maybe this is also the reason why numbers of train collision fatalities decrease from year to year. Even so the numbers do not look good.