New Expert Report in Corlu Train Crash: TCDD Defective

The new expert report on the train accident in which 25 people died in Çorlu was submitted to the court before the sixth hearing. In the report, which stated that the accident occurred "due to the collapse of the filling and ballast layer above a railway culvert located at the scene of the accident" due to flood caused by precipitation, some units within the General Directorate of TCDD were pointed out as "defective".

Newspaper WallAccording to the news of Serkan Alan from; More than two years have passed since the train accident that took place on 7 July 25, in which 8 people, 2018 of them children, died in Tekirdağ Çorlu. The new expert report prepared before the 6th hearing of the case regarding the accident to be held in Çorlu on November 6 was added to the case file.

In the expert report, TCDD General Directorate R&D Unit, Central and 1st Regional Railway Safety and Risk Management Directorates, which did not take the necessary precautions regarding extraordinary weather conditions in the railway infrastructure and art structures and did not provide the necessary coordination with the meteorological situation and weather conditions, were found to be "defective". On the other hand, the head of TCDD General Directorate, responsible for employing road and gate control officers, was also stated as the institution found to be at fault, since it did not employ road and gate control officers in sufficient numbers.

NO MISSING IN LOCOMOTIVE AND WAGONS

Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Yıldırım, Assoc. Dr. Hüseyin Onur Tezcan, Dr. Faculty Member İbrahim Kocabaş, Dr. Faculty Member İlker Üstoğlu, research assistants Dr. Haluk Yılmaz, Dr. Mehmet Ufuk Turan and Senior Engineer Ahmet Şükrü Korman took part.

According to the report prepared by the expert delegation, there were no deficiencies in the locomotives and wagons involved in the accident that would adversely affect the navigation safety. On the other hand, it was also included in the report that it was understood from the locomotive preliminary records that there were no adverse weather conditions that would adversely affect the viewing angle and distance during the accident.

In the report, the statements regarding the occurrence of the accident, "The accident occurred due to the collapse of the filling and ballast layer on a railway culvert at the scene of the accident due to flooding" was used.

'THERE IS NO COORDINATION BETWEEN TCDD AND METEOROLOGY'

In the expert report, which stated that simultaneous, up-to-date and continuous flow of information about meteorological events is necessary for the personnel assigned to fulfill the control task in adverse weather conditions, "With the coordination and continuous data flow to be established between the General Directorate of TCDD and the General Directorate of Meteorology can be realized. However, such coordination does not exist ”.

The expert report stating that it is a necessity for TCDD to employ a sufficient number of road and gate control officers in order to carry out the control works in the road superstructure and infrastructure, especially in extraordinary situations such as earthquakes and floods, regarding the situation in Çorlu (every day) and there is no personnel other than the aforementioned officers who will fulfill the regular control duty ”.

'RAIN IS PREGNANTABLE'

The expert report, which stated that the train involved in the accident did not have a speed violation and that the speed of the train set was suitable for the livre value, included the following determinations about the accident:

• Brake application does not affect the derayman process.
• The precipitation that occurred on the day of the accident is predictable.
• The capacity of the culvert corresponds to a 10-year recurrent flood flow, ie it is insufficient.
• The structure of the basin and farming in the field change the direction and path of the streambed over time and the railway slopes are not protected. This situation causes the culverts to fill up and their capacity to be insufficient.
• The accident occurred when the ballast and filling layers under the rails and sleepers above the culvert at Km: 161 + 968 were evacuated. This culvert faced with the flow from the three basins after the heavy rainfall before the accident due to the failure of the neighboring drainage structures to function.
• In the evaluations made, it was determined that the water rises above the grill level, the grill operates by partially pressurized water partially absorbing air, and as the water level rises further, the water absorbed by the upstream swirls and disrupts the stability of the road slope and causes the slope to collapse.

'THERE IS NO DEFECTS CAUSED BY SIGNALING'

• Although TCDD and especially the R&D Department, Central and 1st Region Railway Safety and Risk Management Directorates should be aware of global climate change; In their risk analysis, it is observed that they do not take into account the changes that occur until an accident occurs and do not recommend proactive measures, which are the main reason of risk analysis.
• The current line is a signaled line and the signal system is working correctly. There were no defects caused by the signaling system in the accident.
• Considering that global climate change and weather conditions have undergone a significant transformation, the concept of registered culvert should be questioned, and all necessary measures should be taken in order to be prepared for extraordinary conditions in infrastructure and superstructure.
• When the trains were being modernized, it was not sufficient to adapt the road superstructure. Infrastructure and art structures should also be adapted to this.

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