How safe is the Serbian railway system?

How safe is the Serbian railway system?

B92: Good evening. As we all know, a heavy railway traffic accident took place on the Bijelo Polje – Bar railway route that left 44 dead and some 200 injured. The Council of Ministers had declared three days of mourning in Serbia and Montenegro. The circumstances that lead to this accident, the safety of railway traffic in Serbia and Montenegro and monitoring systems and procedures are some of the issues we will discuss in tonight’s Poligraf. What is your perspective, as a former official in the Ministry of Capital Investments with jurisdiction over the railway system, on this tragedy that has killed 44 people? The Montenegrin railway authorities said the human factor was most probably to blame. It is my impression that you believe a whole variety of elements have lead to this accident. What do have to tell us on this issue?

Boskovic: I have to say first that it was a huge railway disaster, not just in our local proportions, but also at European scale. Secondly, an expert commission will be drafted to investigate the case, that will include experts from Belgrade, namely professor Milan Markovic from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, whose area of expertise is traffic safety, and also experts for braking systems and other components of the complex railroad system, both for the railway infrastructure and the vehicles. According to information available so far, there has obviously been gross negligence in securing the train from going into self-motion. There is always a possibility that a train will stop in its tracks, but there are procedures in these cases to prevent further unwanted consequences. The question here is why the train had to stop three times. According to some reports, there was a power failure in the train, others say the problem was the braking system that failed. Eventually, the direct cause of the tragedy will come to light.

B92: Is it true that the location where the train got derailed is one of the more hazardous sections of the Montenegrin railway system?

Boskovic: Every passenger feels that travelling by train over mountainous terrain is riskier. In some cases these kinds of terrains can be among the causes of large-scale accidents, but the railway tracks on this section satisfy all safety standards and they are not the reason why the accident happened.

B92: A piece of information that might shock our audience is that 16,000 people have died in traffic accidents between 1990 and 2004 in Serbia. This a lot considering Serbia’s population size, in comparison to European levels. Between 70 and 90 people die in railway accidents every year in Serbia. Could you explain, as a person who worked in the railway transport sector, why so many people in Serbia die in traffic accidents each year and is the railway system part of this spiral of traffic-related death?

Boskovic: We have to distinguish between various forms of traffic. Most of these 16,000 people you have mentioned have died in road traffic accidents. In the last few years between 900 and 1,000 people have died in road accidents annually, with a 2.5 coefficient for heavy injuries sustained in these kinds of traffic mishaps. This is by all means a huge number for a country the size of ours, and we are unfortunately almost or maybe even at the very top of the chart in Europe with respect to the number of accidents per number of registered vehicles or number of drivers. These statistics are quite alarming for a country with a negative demographic trend. One way of dealing with this issue, and I have to say that I had launched an initiative at the competent ministry, is a project of institutional reform in the transport sector that would set up all the missing institutions in this domain and have an annual report on traffic safety in Serbia presented to Serbian Parliament, that would in turn be followed by adequate measures to enhance safety. The railway authorities are obliged by law to submit annual safety reports and I have insisted on having them made during my mandate in government.

B92: Can you first give us some data on the number of people that have died in railway accidents in the last couple of years?

Boskovic: Between 70 and 90 people have died in railway-related accidents each year since 2000. To be precise, most of these accidents happened at railway crossings with public roads, and the number of victims among train passengers is very low, one digit figures mostly. The rest, which is mostly hard to determine, are cases of suicide or negligence by pedestrians. So most of the casualties, around 80%, are victims of accidents at junctions of railways and public roads, or victims of suicide or negligence on the part of the victims.

B92: We had a case last year when a train hit the trailer of a truck and killed five women. This was one of these tragic events.

Boskovic: There were a number of such accidents during my mandate as assistant to the Minister of Capital Investments assigned to railway traffic and transport, where three, four, five or more people were killed.

B92: Now, in these cases we can’t say that the railway authorities were to blame, because the train always has the right of passage. It cannot make timely reactions, it cannot stop in its tracks when pulling the breaks, and so on. But why does this happen then? Who is responsible? Is the Ministry of Capital Investments responsible in some way? Is there some other department in the Government that should be held accountable? Who should be called to account for such a great number of victims of road and railway accidents in Serbia?

Boskovic: This is the reason why I suggested we should have an independent institution that would issue alerts and propose safety measures. This would have to be an institution of experts not under the direct control of the government, but then again accountable to it. Who is responsible? There are many factors and sometimes it is very hard to pinpoint the blame on anyone, but what certainly has a great impact on the high frequency of these accidents is the general state of our society. Safety measures and their implementation have to be strict. I have rarely seen a traffic police officer penalising transgressors at railway crossings. There have been many victims at road junction accidents as well, which means that our attention must focus on particular spots in the traffic infrastructure. All these factors contribute to a high death toll in traffic accidents and, as I have pointed out earlier, this is an alarming trend in a country with demographic policies and curves such as ours. Other European countries have reduced the number of victims of traffic accidents per registered vehicle by half.

B92: Let’s take a peek into this insulated railway system of ours, how risk-laden or how safe it is, whichever way we choose to look at it? I have to remind our audience that a similar accident, luckily without casualties, happened in Serbia as well. A train that departed from Novi Sad slid off its tracks between Zlatibor Mountain and Jablanica. It carried 140 children and, fortunately, it drove slowly at the time of the accident and, since it all happened in a tunnel, it just grinded to halt without serious consequences. However, this accident could also have had a trgic outcome under different circumstances. Why did this happen?

Boskovic: First, I have to say something about the railway as a system. I believe this is the most regulated system in the country, because everything is defined and foreseen with a great number of protocols. There are around 200 guide books for the railway system that prescribe rules of conduct in various situations to the tiniest details, so that when there are system failures an accident is prevented. So, it is a highly regulated system. Now, whether all procedures are put to effect in particular moments, whether and to what extent there is discipline in the railway company and whether its employees regularly get paid are other debatable issues, because they can also cause tension in a system such as this one. The conclusion is that there are many factors that contribute to the total count of these accidents, while each individual case is, truly, a case for itself and cannot be viewed from the perspective of our discussion here.

B92: And what are the most important factors? Could you name the biggest factor of risk in the proper functioning of the railway system in Serbia? Is it the human factor, neglect of procedure, the system?

Boskovic: The human factor and the technical condition of the system…

B92: Are you referring to the quality of the vehicles and the infrastructure?

Boskovic: Yes, I’m referring to available resources, the railway tracks, the infrastructure, including the human factor, with all of its elements, such as training and discipline, and many other factors, which are initially never taken into consideration during the investigation of an accident or some other emergency event.

B92: How would you rate them with respect to their significance for traffic safety in Serbia?

Boskovic: I think discipline is the key issue here, not only at the duty post, but also technological discipline and checking procedural routine. On the other hand, there are always accidents that cannot be avoided because they are beyond the control of the railway system.

B92: Railway traffic was directly under your jurisdiction during your mandate at the Ministry of Capital Investments. What is your take on the quality of the management in the Serbian Railway and Transport Company (ZTP)? It is a known fact that the person in charge of this company, Milanko Sarancic, has had to operate in this industry for the first time in his life upon assignment to this post. I’m not sure about his closest associates, but let’s not make it a personal matter. Let’s talk about the quality and competence of the management in this company, which has an obligation to govern a complex system that faces so many risks and hazards? What is your opinion?

Boskovic: I have to say that the relationship between government and society has a very important effect on the entire policy and quality of the management. I wouldn’t like to elaborate this, because these are well-known issues. The problems with public enterprises and all that.

B92: But please do tell us what do you mean by well-known issues?

Boskovic: Ok, I can put it this way. Not directly, but I can clearly say in the public interest that the steering board of a public enterprise has to be comprised of proficient experts, competent to run that company in all of its domains, meaning its finances, legal issues, technology, the carpool and so on. If the steering board is competent in doing their job, it can prevent many negative things from happening, and if it is not, then many slip ups will occur. The decision to create a public enterprise is always accompanied by a statute that specifies in detail who can be a member of the steering board. However, in a situation with uncertainties over subventions, investments, maintenance and financial peril, the management’s hands are tied up with these burning issues and they cannot direct their energy and efforts towards development.

B92: In other words, to make a direct connection with the issue at hand, because of party interests and the appointment of incompetent party cadre to responsible positions, among other things, accidents such as these happen, procedures are disregarded and discipline is low?

Boskovic: I couldn’t make this direct connection, but in any case…

B92: Ok, but you just said it – if competent people sat in the steering boards, they would significantly reduce the risks of running a system such as the railway company. Is this the message you are trying to convey?

Boskovic: We could look at it that way, yes, but I was primarily referring to the domain of running a company that has repercussions to all parts of the system, including the system of safety measures and so on.

B92: I would like to ask something about the last big strike in the railway system, the strike of locomotive engineers from the Uzice region and got fired for that. They claimed, however, that the only reason why they had gone on strike was the safety of the railway infrastructure in this part of Serbia. It is true that a segment of the railway tracks were was reconstructed, but it is also true that at one point there were no supervisors to warn locomotive drivers of unforeseen hazards, such as land slides and similar dangers. There is this notorious rock they have to pass under each time and they always pray that it doesn’t break of and come crashing on the composition as it passes through. What do you know about the infrastructure in this region and how did you perceive the strike and the resulting laying off of railway workers?

Boskovic: When assessing the Belgrade – Bar railway route, parts of the infrastructure are in good shape and others are not. There are parts that are being reconstructed or are pending reconstruction, but, whatever the case, there are always speed limits and procedures for each segment designed to maintain safety in transport. This has to be crystal clear. This means that when the train crawls at 10 km/h, measures for preserving safety require that the train does not go any faster. As for the route itself, it has several very difficult sections. These include the section or track passing over Zlatibor Mountain, the part passing through the Valjevo region and the whole section in Montenegro. The Zlatibor section is particularly problematic, because aside from a deteriorated infrastructure, there are other factors such as rock slides, torrents and other natural perils that can put safety at risk. There are measures and procedures for maintaining safety of course, but then there is always a potential danger of omissions being made. The state of the railway infrastructure on this route is good, with some bad parts in the Zlatibor area and the tunnels. I wasn’t there during the strikes and the negotiations, but they insisted on raising safety levels. Naturally, when there is a strike you always have a bunch of other things tagging along with the central issue. I was involved in the famous strike of 2002 as a negotiator with two trade unions. This was the longest strike in our railway history and I realised then how difficult it was to lead a strike and negotiate a collective agreement.

B92: Is it true that you directly contested the import of Swedish and Slovenian railway vehicles and got fired as a consequence by Minister Velimir Ilic?

Boskovic: I will tell you what was direct the reason for my deposal from the Ministry. It was an executive board meeting held in August last year. The fact is that I was opposed to importing used train compositions for the transport of passengers. Firstly, I was against investments in passenger transport to begin with, when our resources were limited and revenues from the transport of passengers amounted to a fifth of our total revenue, while the rest drew from the transport of goods. We have to mind the interests of the company and its survival in the process restructuring the railway system.

B92: In other words, it would have been smarter to invest into the transport of goods rather than into passenger trains.

Boskovic: That’s right. Especially not in some used and worn out railway cars. This was a bad investment. I said all that at the executive board session. Although I was not on the board of the company, I was present at most of the meetings. Since the agenda was short, I wanted to discuss the railway company’s debts during the past two years, because I noticed that it was becoming heavily indebted. I wanted to know the value of the company’s loans in order to see if we could pay them back in the next couple of years with the situation at hand. The other problem was the appointment of managers in certain daughter companies, which had been transferred over into Government jurisdiction and only the Government was authorised to appoint this cadre. I warned them that they could not appoint managers in companies that were out of the public railway enterprise.
I think eight daughter firms have been transferred under the auspices of the Privatisation Agency and they have entered the process of privatisation. This being the case, you cannot appoint managers, and this was a serious error on their part. The meeting was probably a signal that I wasn’t a reliable associate anymore or maybe that I was against their investment policy. Soon after that I lost my position at the Ministry.

B92: Is it true that Minister Ilic travelled to Sweden along with Railway Company director Sarancic during the procurement of these compositions, and also with controversial businessman Milorad Celebic who sold these railway vehicles to Serbian Railways (the public railway company)? Can you confirm this?

Boskovic: I cannot, because all of this took place after my deposal.

B92: You are saying it isn’t true, or that it just didn’t happen during you mandate?

Boskovic: It didn’t happen during my mandate. I heard they went to Sweden where they negotiated to close a deal. I think the reason for the visit was some other form of co-operation with Sweden, but I really don’t know the details.

B92: What can you say about Minister Ilic’s justification for you deposal, who said you were ousted because you had abused your office and spent a vacation in the railway company’s facilities with you family at the expense of Serbian Railways.

Boskovic: I think I have already clarified what were the reasons for my deposal. The executives and I were not on the same track anymore, so to say, and it was the right time to part company.

B92: Are there any foundations for what Minister Ilic said to justify his decision? Did you take advantage of the railway company’s facilities in any way?

Boskovic: For someone to say such things about you, he would first have to qualify. I drive a very old car, I live with my in-laws, I have four children and my wife is out of a job. All these accusations are absurd in my view.

B92: Are you a personal friend or political associate of Dragan Djilas, head of the Serbian President’s People’s Office?

Boskovic: No. I have never had any contact with him to date. I have to emphasise that I am not a member of any political party. I served in the government of prime ministers Zoran Djindjic and Zoran Zivkovic, I also served in this government as well, but I was never affiliated to any political party. Regardless of how someone may link me to this party or that, I firmly believe that I am competent to perform the duties I was tasked with.

B92: What can you tell us about the famous railway vehicles from Sweden? What is their quality compared to what Serbia really needs these days and to what Serbia already has in their carpool of railway vehicles?

Boskovic: Generally, I am against the procurement of new vehicles, especially old train compositions, because this has to have full economic justification. The vehicles we were to procure were planned for segments of the railway where all the passengers in demand of this kind of transport could comfortably fit into a large van, and went public with this opinion. The railway system is not feasible on the entire area of its infrastructure, because there is low demand for transport of goods and passengers. We do not need a railway system of this size, because we simply cannot provide a satisfactory level of service. On the other hand, we want to keep everything, which leads to the procurement of old train compositions to run on railway tracks that do not exist and the purchase old train cars and engines. I think this is not the road the Serbian railway system should be taking.

B92: Old trains and old engines undoubtedly have to be repaired more frequently. Serbian Railways signed a contract to repair their engine cars for a price that many thought was too high, 605,000 euros per engine car. Was the price really above optimal market value and was there any foul play in the singing of this contract, in your opinion?

Boskovic: I have to admit I am not qualified to provide an answer to this question, but procedures had been violated at one point in procurement. This was quite obvious, since the contract was signed prior to a request for approval by the steering board.

B92: I was asking about the contract for repairs signed by the railway company in 2005, based on documentation that passed through my hands today.

Boskovic: A contract with whom?

B92: I cannot reveal the name of the company, but according to some claims a big sum of money is at stake, some say double the market value for repairing an engine car.

Boskovic: I am not competent or sufficiently informed to answer that. I am not certain what contract you are referring to now.

B92: Why isn’t there a public report by UBPOK (Directorate for Organised Crime) regarding the procurement of the engine cars? Any theories?

Boskovic: Well, I think I’m the last person you should be asking that question, especially now that I am out of the system and when I’m working on completely different projects.

B92: Yes, but you started to talk about the system for procuring these engine cars. This is, practically, an affair that was overshadowed in the media by these latest cases, but it certainly has not reached some kind of epilogue.

Boskovic: Everything that was to be said about this case has already been published in the newspapers. The ball is in the court of competent authorities now and the public should be informed about further developments.

B92: What phase, in your opinion as an expert, is the process of restructuring the railway company?

Boskovic: This is also an element of safety in railway traffic, restructuring. At first glance it might not seem that way, but the system simply cannot be run as it has up to now. The company is practically not competitive in many segments of the transport market. It has to try and keep up with what is going on in Europe in order to survive in the international arena. The railway system is too big for a country the size of Serbia. I will remind you that around 40% of revenue from transport services comes from the transport of goods in transit, which confirms my earlier statement. The company has to be restructured and I have insisted on this. I was even a member of several restructuring commissions. The banks also insist on this, which is quite normal, because a company might not be able to pay back a loan if it does not change its organisation structure and business and labour policies. There is a lot of resistance to the process, because no one has dealt with this matter professionally and that is the only way to salvage the system. This was my interest and concern. What has been done? There have been reductions in the workforce. The voluntary withdrawal programme really worked well, so the workforce fell from 32,500 in 2000 to 22,500. This freed up assets for investment into the carpool, repairs and infrastructure maintenance. This is a very important process that cannot come through succesfulyy without the aid of the Government. It requires more dedication on their part, because the railway is a heavily subsidised system everywhere.

B92: What is the current trend? How far is Serbia from European railway standards?

Boskovic: I have to say that we had a very good history of the railway system with a competent labour force that is, unfortunately, melting away.

B92: They say that trains travelled at the same speed in Serbia at the beginning of the XX century as they do today.

Boskovic: That is true.

B92: So the railway system was progressive back then, but it made no progress ever since.

Boskovic: We are not in touch with modern trends in this area. We have to separate infrastructure from transport and services in order to know the costs of trains and the costs of maintaining the infrastructure. Then we have to create a competitive environment by letting in several transport companies to compete on this infrastructure in order to get better quality of service, reduce expenditure and create a feasible company that can sustain itself in the market. These are key issues. The state has to be part of the process, the competent Ministry, first of all. The new laws have opened a directorate for the railway system, which has been tasked to draft most of the new regulations and legal documents, it has to redesign outdated regulations and procedures, which now have to include more comprehensively and in more detail the factor we have been talking about today – safety.

B92: Does the initiative have to come from the Ministry of Capital Investments? What kind of activities has the Ministry undertaken regarding the railway system? The ministry where you worked as the minister’s assistant?

Boskovic: Yes, the Ministry should deal with the big systemic issues of the railway company, such as whether or not to open new departments or to privatise the daughter firms and relieve the company of the burden of having to cope with their commercial inefficiency. This is also part of the restructuring process, and it also has to deal with legal matters and systemic issues that need to be resolved and pave the way for railway experts and workers to implement concrete measures. Some of these tasks have been assigned to the newly-established Railway Directorate. It was an arduous job just to set up this department, now it has to take responsibility for things that even the state did not have on its agenda.

B92: How can a poor country such as Serbia face up to these challenges and solve at least some of these huge issues related to infrastructure, equipment and machinery in use?

Boskovic: You have to be fully dedicated to the problem, above all. You cannot solve anything otherwise. The problems won’t go away if you subsidise the railway company with 8.5 billion dinars and then turn your attention elsewhere. I am talking about a dedicated effort to change the system, to restructure it. These are ungrateful tasks, painful and they require a consensus between the political authorities and opposition. If one side is inciting the trade unions to strike and the other wants to reform the system, then we don’t have a favourable environment. Everyone who advised us on this problem said we should either run at full steam, if we decide get things going, or not to start anything at all if we were not prepared to go all the way.B92: Thank you for your time. In tonight’s Poligraf we talked to Branislav Boskovic, professor at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering in Belgrade and former assistant to the Minister of Capital Investments Velimir Ilic for the railway system. Good night.