Latest news More than 50 injured in serious train accident in the Czech Republic
57 people were injured in a collision between an express train and another passenger train in the Czech Republic. Five seriously injured people were taken to hospital in Ceske Budejovice (Budweis), the CTK agency reported, citing the hospital. The other victims suffered minor to moderate injuries.
20.11.2025, 08:41
20.11.2025, 10:23
SDA
The accident occurred shortly after 6.00 a.m. on Thursday on a section of track between the towns of Zliv and Divcice near Ceske Budejovice (Budweis) in the southwest of the country, around 50 kilometers from the Bavarian border. The trains, which were traveling in opposite directions, collided head-on but did not overturn. The cause of the collision is not yet known.
Rescue helicopter also deployed
The emergency services were on the scene with 11 ambulances and a rescue helicopter was also deployed. The fire department deployed a tent and evacuation buses, among other things. A rail replacement service with buses was set up between Budweis and Pilsen. The railroad inspectorate investigated the circumstances of the accident at the scene. According to the police, an alcohol test on the train drivers was negative.
The Czech Republic has one of the densest railroad networks in Europe, but the retrofitting of many older lines such as this one with modern train safety systems is progressing only slowly. The Director General of the Railway Administration, Jiri Svoboda, wrote on X: "This accident has once again shown how important it is to continue the expansion of modern safety systems such as ETCS," he wrote on X. The complete conversion to the European Train Control System (ETCS) has already taken place on 620 kilometers of track.
