Another serious incident has occurred in the Warsaw Metro—fortunately, no one was injured. However, the dangers that may have led to this situation were already flagged by Niezalezna.pl four years ago in an article titled “He Burned Alive! Will There Be Another Tragedy in the Warsaw Metro? ‘If Not This Year, Then the Next.'”
Fire in the Metro
In the night from Monday to Tuesday, a fire broke out at the power substation of the Racławicka metro station, damaging cable tunnels and other parts of the metro’s infrastructure. Eleven fire units responded to the incident. The nighttime hour—and thus the absence of passengers—meant that no one was harmed. However, the consequences of the incident were keenly felt during the morning rush hour, when Warsaw residents had to rely on hastily organized replacement bus services while stuck in monstrous traffic jams.
In the morning, Ministry of the Interior and Administration spokesperson Jacek Dobrzyński commented on the matter, sparking speculation about a possible criminal or terrorist cause of the fire. However, in a conversation with Wirtualna Polska, Dobrzyński clarified that he was “far from speculating on the causes” and said his earlier statement was merely meant to warn the public about the disruptions.
Findings presented at a meeting convened by Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski at the Warsaw Security Center indicated the fire was the result of a technical failure, with no evidence suggesting third-party involvement.
The Problems Were Long Known
The Warsaw Metro has experienced dangerous incidents before—some even fatal. As early as June 2021, Niezalezna.pl reported on the dire state of safety, violations of procedures, and lack of funds for modernization in the municipal company.
“The Mayor of Warsaw is forcing the Metro’s management to increase the number of trains in the tunnel, even though the infrastructure isn’t designed to handle that capacity,” warned Jerzy Kur, a member of the NSZZ “Solidarność” union and long-time workplace safety inspector. He did not rule out a future disaster, stating further accidents were just a matter of time. Kur also claimed that both Metro management and Warsaw city authorities were sweeping problems under the rug.
That report included an account of a fatal accident involving Metro employees on the night of November 14, 2019, at the Plac Wilsona station.
At 1:46 a.m., a traffic dispatcher was informed that two Metro electricians had been electrocuted during maintenance work. One was taken to the Military Medical Institute on Szaserów Street, the other to Bielański Hospital. One of the workers later died.
A similar incident occurred a few years earlier at the substation near the Politechnika station. Fortunately, the consequences were not as severe as at Plac Wilsona, and no deaths occurred.
There were also longstanding issues at the train depot in Kabaty, particularly concerning danger-signaling systems. “The high-voltage cabinets at Depot No. 1 have malfunctioned repeatedly over the past 25 years, and no effective repairs were ever made. Although the issue was officially identified in 2014, their faulty operation has posed a lethal risk to many since then,” reported the workplace safety inspector, who also worked as a rolling stock repair supervisor.
Cutting Corners on Safety
Given potential threats of sabotage or terrorism, proper training and organization of the Metro Security Service (SMW) is crucial. Yet sources pointed to serious deficiencies that endangered the lives of the guards. According to one insider, Metro management believed there were “too many guards.”
“Until recently, guards patrolled in pairs. Soon, there will be only one guard for every six stations. On top of that, they’ve been told to patrol the upper areas of the so-called air intake systems. As a workplace safety inspector, I reviewed the Metro’s protection plan. It’s full of vague generalities, diagrams, and descriptions of coercive tools like tasers—but the guards aren’t shown any of it because it’s considered classified,” he explained.
He also noted that “SMW employees aren’t given orders over the radio but via service phones—so nothing is documented.”
The union representative emphasized that the Mayor of Warsaw, as the owner, was pressuring Metro management to increase train frequency in the tunnels, even though the infrastructure “isn’t designed for that many trains.”
At the time, Niezalezna.pl reached out to the Metro’s spokesperson for comment. A response finally arrived several days after the article’s publication, simply stating that the claims made in the article “do not reflect reality.”
The full article “He Burned Alive! Will There Be Another Tragedy in the Warsaw Metro? ‘If Not This Year, Then the Next.'” can be read below.
It should be noted that poor working conditions, bullying, and safety concerns raised by traffic and station dispatchers in the Warsaw Metro have also been repeatedly covered by other media outlets. However, there is still no sign of any meaningful action from the company’s management or the Warsaw City Hall to address the systemic issues.