Stalać rail crash

On 13 September 1979, a head-on collision occurred between two trains near the village of Stalać in SR Serbian, then part of Yugoslavia. The crash involved a head-on collision between a packed express passenger train bound for Skopje and an intermodal freight train on a single-track section of the railway. Due to communication errors and possible driver fatigue, the two trains collided, resulting in approximately 60 fatalities and 100 injuries. The crash remains one of the more significant rail accidents in former Yugoslavia, though not widely documented.

Stalać rail crash
Details
Date	13 September 1979 (1979-09-13) 1:33 CET (0:33 UTC)
Location	Stalać, Serbia
Coordinates	43°40′46″N 21°24′52″E
Country	Yugoslavia
Line	Belgrade–Niš mainline
Operator	Yugoslav Railways
Incident type	Head-on collision
Cause	Freight train driver allowed train to pass signals at danger
Statistics
Trains	2
Passengers	?
Deaths	60 72
Injured	100
List of rail accidents in Yugoslavia

Stalać crash diagram
Simplified route diagram
km.0 to Skopje 259.6 Niš direction of freight train 182.2 Stalać 182 site of collision direction of Express passenger train E761 / A 1 177.5 Ćićevac to Belgrade

Background

Stalać is located along a key rail line connecting several major regions within Serbia. In 1979, Yugoslav Railways handled high volumes of both passenger and freight transport, often on single-track sections like the one near Stalać. Single-track operation required careful coordination between dispatchers and train operators to avoid conflicts. At the time, the communication and signaling protocols in place were more limited than those found in modern rail systems, which sometimes increased operational risks, particularly in remote or rural areas.

Collision

In 1:33 AM local time on 13 September 1979, a passenger train traveling south encountered a freight train traveling north on the same track near Stalać. The freight train, transporting containerized goods, was heavier and slower to stop than the passenger train. A miscommunication regarding track priority appears to have led to both trains being allowed onto the single-track section simultaneously. While signals indicated that the passenger train should have had priority, reports suggest there may have been an issue with the interpretation of these signals. Additionally, some sources suggest that the driver of the freight train may have been fatigued and possibly unresponsive to signals, although this was never conclusively verified.

An investigating judge, Tomislav Smiljković, said the heavily loaded freight train had gone through a stop signal just before the collision. The engineer of the express, bound from Belgrade to Skopje, said he did not feel the crash but found that his train had been sliced in two. He added that the first three cars were left on the rails but that “the rest were completely smashed”.

Victims

The collision resulted in approximately 60-72 fatalities and 100 injuries, with the majority of casualties occurring among the passengers of the Express train. Officials at the time commented they believed more dead would be found by emergency workers cutting through the wreckage with acetylene torches, as some of the cars were crushed to a quarter of their original size. Emergency response efforts were complicated by the remote location and difficult terrain, which delayed access for rescue teams.

Investigation

In the aftermath of the crash, Yugoslav railway authorities conducted an investigation and identified human error and communication lapses as primary factors. This prompted several procedural changes, including enhanced dispatcher training, new working hour regulations for train operators, and upgraded signalling equipment on single-track sections.

Legacy and Documentation

The Stalać rail crash received limited media coverage, partly due to press restrictions in Yugoslavia at the time, which often limited reporting on incidents involving public infrastructure. The event remains relatively undocumented in historical records and is less widely known than other railway incidents, in part due to the larger political events that followed in Yugoslavia during the 1990s.

See also

• List of rail accidents in Yugoslavia
• List of rail accidents in Serbia
• List of rail accidents (1970–1979)