Krouna railway disaster

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On 24th June 1995 about quarter to six afternoon, cargo train crew in Čachnov station (5km SE) was disjoining the train. They omitted to brake the disjoined cars and four of them (123t heavy, one guard´s car and three fully loaded with wood and scrap metal) ran away on steeply descending (2%) track towards scheduled passenger train consisting of the single class 810 railbus.
The crash occured here in 17:54. The passenger train was going ca 30km/h at the time, but the runaway cars accelerated to ca 110km/h and were coming from curve hidden in bushes so the railbus driver had no chance to any reaction. The railbus was completely wrecked. Driver and 17 passengers died on the spot, one passenger died of her injures in a hospital and 3 passengers were seriously injured. The only one slightly injured passenger was at the toilet in the time of crash.
The accident impact was so heavy because the train drivers on this route had no radio connection with the controller and stations.
Three crew members of cargo train were charged of causing this accident and two of them were convicted in 1996 - chief guard Frantisek Kucera to 8 years of imprisonment, guard Frantisek Kopiste to 5 years of imprisonment.