TIRANA – On 4–5 February 2026, railway safety professionals from the Western Balkans and Ukraine gathered in Tirana for the IPA Seminar “Basics of Railway Accident Investigation”, organised by the European Union Agency for Railways and the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community, together with national investigation bodies.
The two-day training focused on helping participants better understand how to investigate railway accidents in a clear, fair, and professional way, making rail transport safer for everyone.
During the seminar, participants worked on practical topics, including how accident investigations are organised under EU rules, how to collect and analyse information at accident sites, how human behaviour and working conditions affect safety, how railway companies manage risks and prevent accidents, and how to interview people involved and write clear reports.
Through group exercises and real-life examples, participants practiced how to look beyond what happened and understand why it happened.
Experts from the Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Authority (Sicherheitsuntersuchungsstelle des Bundes (SUB)) and the European Union Agency for Railways shared their experience and guided the sessions. Participants exchanged views, asked questions, and learned from each other’s challenges and solutions.
The seminar is part of wider EU support to help partners align with European railway safety standards. By improving how accidents are investigated, authorities can better prevent future incidents and protect passengers, workers, and communities.
Participation of experts from Ukraine was financed by the European Union under the grant NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2023/452688 to the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community, supporting preparatory activities for the progressive involvement of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine in the activities of the Transport Community.
