Warsaw commuter trains crash head-on, two hurt

[John Ashworth]

Warsaw commuter trains crash head-on, two hurt

23 May 2012, 15:40 CET EU Business

(WARSAW) - Two commuter trains collided head-on in Warsaw Wednesday, injuring two people, on a stretch of railway near Poland's new national stadium where the Euro 2012 football championships kick off in June.

The crash caused major train delays, Polish State Railways spokesman Miroslaw Siemieniec said, according to PAP news agency. He said it was not yet known why both trains were travelling in opposite directions on the same track.

The accident occurred in an eastern suburb of Warsaw which will see fans from across the globe flood in for the football championships, which Poland will co-host along with Ukraine from June 8.

The former communist country, which joined the European Union in 2004, has rushed to modernise its communist-era transportation infrastructure ahead of the football tournament.

In March, a similar head-on train collision occurred about 200 kilometres south of Warsaw, killing 16 people and wounding 60.