Accident

On Friday, 12 August 2011, a PKP Intercity TLK train from Warszawa Centralna to Katowice derailed at Baby [ˈbabɨ], near the town of Piotrków Trybunalski. The accident happened at 16:15 local time (14:15 UTC). Initially, four passengers were reported dead, but search of the wreckage with the use of lifting equipment and rescue dogs established that only one 52-year-old man had died. A total of 81 passengers were injured, including about 20 in serious condition. The locomotive, PKP class EU07, number 1034, and all four carriages derailed. The first carriage turned over. The train was full, carrying almost 280 passengers, as the accident happened on the Friday before the long weekend of the Assumption Day holiday.

After the accident, it was reported that the train had been travelling at 118 kilometres per hour (73 mph) on a section of line where the maximum permitted speed was only 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph). The driver was placed under arrest in the hospital, and on 15 August 2011 a court placed him under detention for two months. The accident is under investigation by public prosecutors and by a special accident investigation committee.