INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

“On August 19th, at 4:30 a.m., a tragic train disaster occurred near Toruń,” read the Polish Press Agency’s statement, forty-five years ago. Sixty-seven people lost their lives in a collision between two speeding trains in Brzoza, near Toruń. Marshal Piotr Całbecki and Voivodeship Board Member Marek Wojtkowski participated in today’s (August 19th) anniversary ceremony.

“At this time, as every year, we reflect on the worst post-war rail disaster in Poland. We owe this to those who perished, as well as to the dedicated rescuers,” said Marshal Piotr Całbecki.

The ceremonies began with a Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Otłoczyn. After the service, in the forest between Brzoza and Otłoczyn, those gathered laid flowers at the monument commemorating the victims of the disaster. Katarzyna Streich, Mayor of the Wielka Nieszawka Commune, also attended the ceremony.

The commemorations were organized by the provincial government, the Wielka Nieszawka commune, the Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Toruń, the Provincial Police Headquarters in Bydgoszcz, the Bydgoszcz branch of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, Polregio SA Kujawsko-Pomorskie Plant in Bydgoszcz, the Gniewkowo Forest District, the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Otłoczyn, the Association of Friends of Railways and Industrial Monuments, and the Railway Chamber of Tradition in Toruń.

On August 19, 1980, just before dawn, a half-hour late express train from Kołobrzeg to Łódź departs Toruń Główny station for Włocławek. It’s 4:18 a.m. Two minutes later, a freight train departs from Otłoczyn in the opposite direction. Its driver, tired after twenty-something hours of work, ignores the “Stop!” sign. At a signal and, crossing a crossroads, enters the wrong-way onto the left track, where a passenger train is traveling opposite it. The freight train’s driver’s error is signaled by automatic traffic control devices, and the dispatchers in the area are immediately notified. However, nothing can be done, as the train drivers have no means of communication. At 4:30 a.m., in a ravine near the town of Brzoza, a collision occurs. Sixty-seven people die in the disaster: the train manager, the driver, two of his assistants, and 63 passengers.

Among those involved in the rescue operation was Kazimierz Janicki, then head of the Toruń locomotive shed and commander of one of the two rescue trains. It was Janicki who asked Marshal Piotr Całbecki to organize a commemoration ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the disaster. The regional host accepted this initiative without hesitation. Later that same year, the provincial government reached out to the families of the victims, rescuers, military personnel, and firefighters involved in the operation, and invited them to a ceremony during which a commemorative plaque was unveiled, bearing the names of those tragically killed.

Beata Krzemińska

Spokesperson, Marshal’s Office

August 14, 2025

Last updated: August 19, 2025