Gas-filled Railway Tanks Explode in Italy: Who’s Responsible?

Last Monday, 29th of June, in Viareggio: Axle failure on a wagon carrying liquid gas caused a rail disaster in central Italy.

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The train derailed in the town and exploded bringing the death to more than 20 people. The Italian press criticised the apparent lack of security measures and the regulations on the transport of dangerous materials. Especially because there are many trains going through towns where stations are important hub along the rail line running up and down the country.

The train derailed, rented to Trenitalia rail company from the US giant Gatx to transport liquified petroleum gas, has been subjected to normal checks by authorised companies, Gatx’s European subsidiary said. But the problem is that present European regulations allow companies to self-certify the safety of these trains.

“This accident is not the result of chance but of omissions which will be carefully examined.” Italy’s prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said, after the declaration of a “state of emergency” for the dramatic accident. Now Italian interior minister Roberto Maroni has promised that current legislation on the transport of dangerous materials will be revised.

Claudio Martini, president of the Tuscan Region declared his purpose to ask the national Government to reduce Italian trains’ speed along inhabited centres (that train was travelling at 90 km per hour) suggesting also to establish a “super partes” controller on the transport of these materials in our country.

Photo courtesy of wili_hybrid on Flickr under Creative Commons

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