Increase in Casualties from Semnan Accident; Parliament Moves to Impeach Minister of Roads

As reports emerge regarding the increase in the number of casualties from the collision of two trains in Semnan province to 49 people, several members of parliament have announced that the number of signatures for the impeachment of the Minister of Roads and Urban Development has reached 70. According to Tasnim News Agency, Ismail Jabbarzadeh, the governor of East Azerbaijan, announced on Sunday that the number of victims of this incident has risen to 49, stating that all victims were residents of East Azerbaijan and passengers on the Mashhad-Tabriz train. Jabbarzadeh's statements come as Haidar Asiabi, the prosecutor of Semnan, rejected the published statistics regarding the increase in casualties to 46, declaring that only 40 people had died in the incident. Two passenger trains collided on Friday, December 5, on the Semnan-Damghan route at the 'Haftkhan' station, leading to fires in several carriages. Regarding the cause of the incident, government officials stated that the Tabriz-Mashhad train had stopped due to cold weather and freezing of the brake system around a bend, and this stop was reported to the control center in Shahroud. However, after a shift change, the new controller was unaware of this and informed the Mashhad-Semnan train that the route was clear despite the red signal. Meanwhile, the public relations department of the railway confirmed in a statement on Sunday that after the Tabriz-Mashhad train stopped due to 'cold weather and automatic braking of the train,' the shift of the traffic control officer ended at 7 AM on Friday. According to the report, at 7:14 AM, the Semnan-Mashhad train questioned the traffic control officer due to the red light, and the new officer allowed it to proceed. Hossein Ashouri, head of the Railway Accident Commission, stated on Saturday that about 10 people were involved in this incident and that each of them should be interrogated and allowed to present their defenses. The prosecutor of Semnan also reported that four individuals, including the locomotive driver of the Semnan-Mashhad train, have been arrested due to this incident. In connection with this incident, on Saturday, Mohsen Pourseyed-Aghaei, the CEO of the railway company, resigned, and this resignation was accepted by Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development. The Minister also appointed Mehrdad Taghizadeh, the deputy for transportation in the ministry, as the acting head of the railway while retaining his position. Meanwhile, some conservative media have strongly criticized the performance of Hassan Rouhani's government in response to this incident, and some conservative representatives have also reported preparing an impeachment motion against the Minister of Roads and Urban Development. On Saturday, Es'hagh Jahangiri, the first vice president, reacted to the statements of some parliament members regarding the impeachment of the Minister, saying that using this incident for 'private or political settling of scores' is 'an injustice' to the country. Nevertheless, Reza Shiran Khorasani, a representative from Mashhad, announced on Sunday that the number of signatures for the impeachment motion has increased, and this motion will be presented to the parliamentary board with over 70 signatures on December 14. Abbas Akhoundi was also impeached in the ninth parliament, but the representatives opposed his dismissal with 175 votes against, 72 votes in favor, and 5 abstentions, thus retaining him in his position. At that time, some of the impeachment points against Akhoundi were related to rail transport, including issues such as 'lack of a program in rail transport,' 'purchase of locomotives and equipment by the railway without following procedures,' 'purchase of 500 wagons from a Swiss company,' and 'lack of progress in electrifying the Tehran-Mashhad railway.' Meanwhile, on Sunday, Bloomberg reported, citing a central bank official, that Germany has agreed to allocate a credit of 1.2 billion euros to assist in the development of the Tehran-Mashhad railway project. This Bloomberg report comes as last February, coinciding with the visit of the Chinese president to Iran, media reported negotiations with a Chinese bank for a credit of 3 to 4 billion dollars for the electrification of the Tehran-Mashhad railway.