The collision of a train and a tram in Leningrad on December 1, 1930

For several kilometers south of the Obvodny Canal, Mezhdunarodny (now Moskovsky Prospekt) , right up to the exit to the city limits, was an industrial zone with rare interspersed housing, spontaneously formed near the freight stations of three stations (Baltic, Warsaw and Vitebsk). Access roads, unloading platforms, interchanges and intersections of railways literally entangled the entire area. Often, these paths went from behind factory fences to the carriageway of streets laid across this vast economy. And although these crossings were equipped with barriers, with heavy traffic both rail and city transport, the risk of serious accidents was very high.

One of such connecting branches crossed the International Avenue - the main highway at the southern entrance to the city, connecting the track facilities of the Warsaw Station with forks to the Vitebsk and Moscow stations, crossed the avenue at the Mayak factory, approximately in the middle between the Moscow Gate and the Novodevichy Convent . It was an accident.

On December 1, 1930, at about 8 a.m., a two-car tram train of tram number 8 of the tram park named after Blokhin, under the direction of the car driver P. A. Savelyev, followed the International Avenue from the city center in a southerly direction to the factories behind the Moscow outpost. At the same time, a steam locomotive with loaded freight wagons maneuvered along the Connecting Branch on the stage. At 7 hours 58 minutes, the last car of the train, which was reversing, ran onto the motor car of the tram, climbed onto it, knocked over and crushed it under itself.

When firefighters arriving at the scene lifted the wagons with jacks, it turned out that 28 people were killed and 8 were seriously injured. Another 11 people were slightly injured. Only three were completely uninjured, including Saveliev, the car driver.

The dead and injured were immediately taken to the I.G. Konyashin hospital, located a few dozen meters from the scene (Moskovsky Prospekt, 104).

Within two days after the incident, the senior investigator of the regional prosecutor’s office L. Sheinin, together with the employees of the GPU , conducted an investigation. A technical commission was established to investigate the causes of the disaster. In the crash case, 10 people were arrested, including guards, car drivers and dispatchers.

On December 4, an open trial of the culprits began at the Institute of Technology . 16 people were brought to justice under article 26-a of the RSFSR Criminal Code.

The following facts were established during the process:

• the dispatcher, whose duties included notifying the watchmen at the crossing about the train exit, did not reach the post, did not take other warning measures;
• the watchmen began to close the crossing for the tram not in 5 minutes, but upon the train’s approach;
• the coupler, who was on the site of one of the cars of the maneuvering train, saw the barrier closed for the train and the inhibit signal, and had to inform the driver about the danger of further movement, but he did it late;
• the car driver, seeing how the watchman began to close, and assuming that there is time before the train arrives, decided to proceed without moving at a higher speed;
• Before the disaster, the Leningrad City Council sent a proposal to the Oktyabrskaya Railway to ban maneuvers in this section from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., as this delayed the movement of tram trains on which workers were rushing to work. The board replied that maneuvering had ceased. In fact, it was stopped only on December 3, by telegram from the center;
• the instructions that existed at that time were not followed up without exception: both by the management team and ordinary executors. Some accused were not given instructions at all.

Court Sentence

In connection with the receipt of cassation complaints from the convicts and the request of the Supreme Court to send him a tram accident, the case was sent to the Supreme Court.

• On December 4 (the day the trial of the perpetrators began), most of the dead (22 people) were buried at the Communist site of the Novodevichy cemetery , located near the crash site and Konyashin Hospital, where they were taken.
• The further fate of the convicts (in connection with the appeal of the court verdict) has not yet been established.

• As part of the measures taken after this disaster, a set of measures was taken aimed at improving the safety of public transport and streamlining urban traffic. One of these measures was the introduction of a rule put forward by the public and supported by a special commission to stop the movement of cars when boarding and disembarking tram passengers.
• This resonant incident occurred on the first day of the announced ^[2] “ decade of safety” on the tram.

" Evening Red Newspaper ", No. 282, November 29, 1930 :

THE DECADE OF SECURITY BEGINS (open letter to workers and public organizations of Leningrad)

Original text (Russian)

The tram does not work well. Besides the fact that he is unable to cope with the transportation of workers, which is why our industry is extremely affected, he still cripples dozens of people every day . Over the past year in Leningrad there have been 1,597 accidents with people on the tram, of which 215 are deaths . In recent months, the number of accidents has not only not decreased, but has a tendency to increase.

Tram outrages and accidents with people occur not only through the fault of tram workers, but also through the fault of the population itself, which does not comply with traffic rules. It is extremely difficult to manage the Railways on their own with the strengthening of discipline among the population. In order for this work to be successful, the participation of the entire working community of the city, primarily the public of large enterprises , is necessary .

From December 1 to 10, a “decade of safety” and strengthening of labor discipline on the tram will be held in Leningrad . The decade should, by the joint efforts of the employees of the Railways and the entire working community, establish order on the tram and influence the reduction of accidents.

The headquarters of the review of the Leningrad tram, at forever. "Cr. Gazeta ”, the regional department of the Union of Communal Services and the management of the Railways appeal to all the factories of Leningrad with a request to take an active part in the“ decade ”. As a practical measure, separate shock brigades from their assets to maintain order in tram cars during the “decade”.

GZD HQ.

OBLOTDEL SRKH.

MANAGEMENT OF GZHD.

"Evening Red Newspaper", No. 283, December 1, 1930 :

BLOOD STATISTICS

Original text (Russian)

Not a single enterprise of Leningrad gives as many casualties as a Leningrad tram does. By the number of victims the tram can only be compared with the front. The daily tram report says, unfortunately, that on this front the situation has worsened lately. The number of victims is growing faster than the population of the city.

From July to October 1930, there were 772 casualties on the Leningrad tram, of which 125 were mortal, 284 heavy, 327 light and 36 without damage. Last year for the same 4 months. out of 631 fatal accidents , there were only 50 , severe — 133, lungs — 382 and no injuries — 66.

In other words, the number of accidents this year gave a huge increase in severe and fatal cases: their number has more than doubled. The main cause of accidents is the unacceptable negligence of tram workers and the population itself.

Unemotional statistics show us that 3/4 of accidents occur when a passenger leaves and enters a tram on the go and crossroads — 550 out of 772 cases. The extremely high number of accidents with children is 56 for 4 months. this year. If we still have the right to say to the adult population: “Do not poke around where you should not”, then this cannot be said to the children. We need to immediately put in schools and pioneer organizations a wide explanatory work among children about the dangers of tram traffic, etc.

Many accidents also occur in tram collisions, the number of which has increased dramatically — 802 instead of 590 last year. The cause of tram disasters is almost exclusively the decline in labor discipline of tram workers.

The "Decade of Safety" should serve as the impetus for the struggle for labor discipline on the tram, which is now slackened to the limit.

• The largest accident in the history of Leningrad-Petersburg (neopr.) . The driver of St. Petersburg. Date of treatment December 16, 2012. Archived January 19, 2013.
• Tram disasters in the USSR
• Tram disaster . Notes from the creator of the electric brakes that were used in the crashed tram.

• " Evening Red Newspaper ", No. 282-292, 11/29 - 11/12/1930
• Michael Sapego. "About the tram tragedy." - SPb. : TO “Red Sailor”, 2010. - 44 p. - ISBN 5-7187-0472-7 .