PKP Intercity train collides with truck in Sokolniki Suche, killing one passenger and injuring 20

Collision and derailment

On Wednesday at 11:25, PKP Intercity train number 2820/1 Koziolek, traveling from Lublin Glowny to Szczecin Glowny, collided with a truck at a level crossing in Sokolniki Suche in the Mazovian Voivodeship. The train was composed of an EP09 locomotive and six passenger carriages, carrying approximately 120 people, including 111 ticketed passengers, one driver, and two train staff members. Upon impact, the locomotive overturned onto its right side, and four of the six passenger carriages came off the tracks. The truck, identified in media reports as a concrete mixer, suffered severe structural damage, tearing a large opening into the side of the train's lead carriage.

Casualties and emergency response

Emergency services confirmed that 20 people suffered injuries in the collision. Four individuals were initially classified in critical condition, comprising the train driver, the truck driver, and two female passengers. One of the critically injured passengers, who was seated in the first carriage, died from her injuries after emergency teams evacuated her to an ambulance. Fire brigade spokesman Captain Marcin Kowalski reported that responders successfully resuscitated one victim who suffered cardiac arrest at the scene. Between seven and eight injured individuals were transported to hospitals in Radom, Opoczno, and Kielce, with Air Ambulance Service spokeswoman Justyna Sochacka confirming one patient was airlifted by helicopter.

Paweł Krysiak, a passenger seated in the second carriage who was travelling to Zduńska Wola, described the impact inside the train.

Suddenly I felt a strong impact. The bang was enormous. The train fell onto my right side and I fell onto it, getting badly bruised.

Evacuation and transit disruption

The rescue effort involved approximately 30 fire service crews, specialized technical and medical rescue teams, police personnel, and two medical helicopters. Nearby drivers and uninjured passengers assisted in pulling survivors from the wreckage and distributing bandages and drinking water. First responders transferred 67 passengers who did not require hospitalization to a municipal community center in nearby Skrzynsko, with local police securing their remaining luggage for retrieval in Przysucha.

Rail traffic on railway line number 22 between Wolanow and Przysucha, along the Tomaszow Mazowiecki to Radom Glowny corridor, was halted following the derailment. PKP Intercity dispatched three replacement buses to ferry stranded passengers toward Lodz and introduced mutual ticket recognition with regional train operators Polregio and LKA.

Investigation and safety measures

The District Prosecutor's Office in Radom, collaborating with the Przysucha district prosecutor and the State Commission on Railway Accident Investigation, initiated an inquiry into the crash. Prosecutors are conducting the investigation under Article 163 of the Polish Penal Code, addressing the causation of a railway catastrophe endangering human life, health, or large-scale property. Investigators are inspecting the truck, checking for a tachograph, and extracting technical data recorders from both the locomotive and the crossing installation, which featured operational light and sound warnings but lacked physical barrier gates and external surveillance cameras.

Radom District Prosecutor Robert Czerwinski detailed the technical recovery process underway at the site.

The issue is not only examining the train and the wreckage of the truck, but also recovering the locomotive's data recorders, obtaining footage and train data showing speed, and other technical specifications.

Following the accident, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak announced that the government is drafting urgent statutory changes to significantly increase penalties for drivers who violate traffic rules at railway crossings.