Lithuania has some of the safest railways in Europe, new study shows

Lithuania has some of the safest railways in Europe, a new study published Thursday shows.

The European Railway Agency's (ERA) overview of Common Safety Performance 2013 data revealed that Lithuania has made progress in railway safety. According to the figures on railway accidents recorded over a one year period, Lithuania climbed from 12th to 8th place and is now ranked among the ten European countries in the railway safety performance, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said.

According to the latest data investigated at EU-28 level last year, the lowest number of rail transport accidents was registered in Ireland (3 accidents). The biggest number of accidents was registered in Poland -328, whereas 24 accidents were registered in Lithuania.

A total of 28 European countries i.e. the European Union Member States, except Cyprus and Malta with no railway transport, Norway and Switzerland, were voluntary participating in the European Railway Agency studies and were compared according to the index of accidents occurred in the railway sector.

Safety indicators data show that the railway safety in Lithuania is steadily improving. Since 2010, the number of significant accidents has decreased by 45 percent (from 44 accidents in 2010 to 24 accidents in 2013). In addition, the figures of railway fatality risk have decreased from 31 persons in 2010 to 17 persons in 2013. The number of seriously injured people fell by almost 47 percent (from 15 to 8).