The Czech Railways lack a security risks analysis
Press Release – September 10, 2008
From October 2007 to April 2008, auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) performed an audit focused on projects of the railway security and passengers’ safety, which have been carried out since 2005. Some of the projects are falling behind the schedule or ignoring the economical parameters because of ill-managements, wrong plans, and complexities of the area management and building control.
The audited bodies were the Ministry of Transport, the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFTI), the Czech Railways, and the Railway Infrastructure Administration together with its administration offices in Olomouc, Plzeň, and Praha. Out of the total 296 projects that were carried out from 2005 to 2007 and prospectively cost over CZK 5 milliard, the auditors selected 36 projects with supposed financial requirements for CZK 860 million.
Implementation of the Program for ensuring the railway security and passengers’ safety started already in 1993 but no follow-up projects have been put on the program since 2006. The program has been backed financially by the SFTI, but authorisation of this fund’s expenditures is not bound to act up to the budgetary rules. “This situation can endanger the objectivity of the program assessments with the view of the efficient utilization of financial resources“, said František Dohnal, president of the SAO.
Out of accord with the contract conditions, financial resources from the SFTI were spent for example on a railway underpass’ reconstruction, which cost over CZK 7 million, on building objects, which were later transmitted to a third party, and on fast food service equipment worth CZK 277 000.
“We miss a risk analysis of the railway security and passengers’ safety, which would help to utilize the financial resources effectively. Above all, the financial resources earmarked for the projects of the railway security and passengers’ safety should be spent on the accident risk’s decrease“, said Dohnal.
The auditing operation was included into the 2007 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 07/25. Petr Skála, Member of the SAO Board controlled the operation and drew up the audit report as well.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office