Otłoczyn 2024-12-09

Catastrophe – Otłoczyn.

The Otłoczyn train disaster was the largest train disaster in Poland, which occurred on August 19, 1980, at approximately 4:30 a.m. There was a head-on collision between two trains: a passenger train on the Toruń Główny – Łódź Kaliska route and a freight train on the Otłoczyn – Wrocki route. The disaster occurred on the Otłoczyn – Brzoza Toruńska section. As a result of the disaster, 67 people died and 64 were injured.

Passenger train No. 5130 traveling from Toruń to Łódź. The passenger train composition: diesel locomotive SP45-160 from the Toruń Główny locomotive depot and seven passenger cars. Five series 101A seating cars and two couchette cars on the direct route from Kołobrzeg to Łódź. The mass of the passenger train was about 452 tons, the length was about 190 m.

Freight train No. 11599 traveling from Otłoczyn to Wrocek. Train composition: diesel locomotive ST44-607 from the Chojnice locomotive depot and 16 empty freight cars of the Ea series. The mass of the freight train was about 436 tons, and the length was about 247 m.

Place of the train collision. Double-track, then non-electrified LK No. 18 from Kutno to Piła, route from Aleksandrów Kujawski to Toruń, section from Otłoczyn to Brzoza Toruńska.

We do not provide an answer to the question – Who was at fault?, because to this day there are detailed questions that have not been answered. Many publications and films have been created that try to explain exactly what happened. To this day, the families of the tragic deceased, local residents, railway workers and railway enthusiasts have been arriving at the scene of the tragedy.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman