PKP PLK has compensated carriers for the consequences of last year system failure

PKP PLK has made appropriate payments to railway operators as compensation for the considerable difficulties encountered during the biggest failure of railway traffic control systems. This was reported by Railway Supply magazine, citing Nakolei.

In March 2022, 19 local control centres experienced the failure of railway traffic control systems. Thus, around 4 am, there was a paralysis of railway traffic on 820 km of railway tracks after the failure of Ebilock 950 R4 computer systems manufactured by ALSTOM ZWUS sp.z oo. On that day, 1,300 trains were delayed and 205 were cancelled.

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The Ministry of Infrastructure pointed out that it was the biggest railway traffic control system failure that the Polish railway had to face. The issue of compensation had been dragging on for almost a year. Claims made by the railway operators against PLK SA and arising from agreements between PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA and the railway companies on the use of capacity have been paid by the Company.

There remains the issue of compensation from Alstom, i.e. the supplier of the failed system. The compensation chain should have looked as follows: the carrier pays compensation to passengers for delayed or cancelled trains, PKP PLK compensates carriers for losses incurred, and PKP PLK receives compensation from the system supplier.

It turns out that PKP PLK eventually began to seek compensation for losses incurred because the infrastructure manager had to provide Alstom with information about the carriers’ claims.

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