Amid the investigation into the circumstances of two freight train accidents that occurred last week, the Lithuanian Railways group (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai, LTG) has banned employees from commenting on the incidents to the media and publishing information about them on social media.
“Employees received messages demanding not to cooperate with the media and not to provide any information. It also stated that in case of disclosure, the company could suffer damages that could be claimed almost through the courts. This sounds like a threat,” said Stanislavs Fedaravicius, chairman of the railway workers' union Solidarumas, to BNS on Thursday.
Acting head of LTG Arunas Rumskas stated on Thursday that the purpose of the messages was to warn employees about potential risks in case information is disseminated that could hinder pre-trial investigations.
“The situation is very serious. One thing is communication and the reputation of the company, which is extremely important, but two pre-trial investigations have been initiated. Here, legal responsibility arises; this can be interpreted as obstruction of justice or data leakage. These are serious matters, and we had to warn employees,” Rumskas told reporters.
“However, there are certain restrictions on what can be said and what cannot. We just wanted employees to keep this in mind,” he added.
In a letter sent by the LTG communications team (a copy is available to BNS), it is stated that all information about the incidents is part of the pre-trial investigations initiated by the Kaunas prosecutor's office. It also mentions that criminal liability may arise for its disclosure.
Furthermore, the letter emphasizes that uncoordinated public statements create risks for LTG's reputation, and upon completion of the investigation, the company intends to seek compensation for possible damages.
According to the document, only Rumskas, Corporate Affairs Director Alexander Zubryakov, and Business Sustainability Director Gediminas Siackus are allowed to publicly comment on the events.
As previously reported by bb.lv, the train driver, Vidmantas Simonavicius, whose train derailed last Friday in Ese (Kaunas district), said on Wednesday to LRT radio that due to a faulty automatic rolling stock control system (RAKS), he did not notice and could not have noticed the breakdown of one of the cars.
The Ministry of Transport noted in a comment to the media on Thursday that it is monitoring the situation and calls for “constructive internal dialogue and transparent resolution of all issues while ensuring workers' rights.”
On Saturday just before midnight, a locomotive and four freight cars derailed in Ese while traveling from Palemonas to Duisburg. On Friday, several cars carrying gravel derailed at the Gudziunai station in the Kedainiai district.
The causes of the incidents are being investigated by an LTG commission, the Ministry of Justice has begun a safety investigation into the accidents, and the Kaunas prosecutor's office is conducting two separate pre-trial investigations.
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