Cause of train derailment unclear

RIGA - A section of a cargo train went off the rails in the region of Liepaja in western Latvia around 2:30 p.m. on April 29. The incident involved some 11 to 16 cars in the mid-section of the train, leaving the locomotive and a few cars at the front, and a few cars at the back still on the rails.

At least two of the derailed cars rolled over, but no injuries were reported.

Janis Veidemanis, director of the railways department at the Ministry of Transport, said the train was mostly carrying metal scrap and timber, so no harm had been done to the environment.

"Five cars will have to be repaired along with some 700 meters of tracks," Veidemanis said.

Latvian railway company Latvijas Dzelzcels' spokesman Janis Upitis told the Baltic News Service agency that the accident had been caused by technical problems, and that there were a great variety of possible malfunctions that may have caused the derailment.

Shortly after the train derailed, the Latvian railway company dispatched a team of inspectors to establish the cause of the accident, if it was indeed an accident.

Veidemanis did not rule out sabotage as a cause for the mishap but said that more detailed information is expected when an investigation concludes on May 15.

Traffic on the Riga-Liepaja route was resumed after two days, but passengers face an uncertain future on the line in question. There are thoughts of closing it to passengers altogether and reserving it exclusively for cargo trains.

"We are planning to maybe close that line to passengers in June. There are only, on average, between 40 or 50 travelers per train, which is just about the number of people you can fit in a bus," Veidemanis said.