‘Senseless deaths of good people’: Samara investigator on why people die on the rails

Dozens of trains pass by us every day. We cross the tracks, wait for the commuter train, hear the horns. The railroad has become a familiar backdrop to life for residents of Samara. But for investigators of the Samara Transport Investigative Department of the Russian Investigative Committee, it«s a place where life ends in a second. All because of one wrong step, a glance at a phone, or a desire to take a shortcut.

Journalists from 63.RU spoke with the head of this department, Rita Danielyan. The experienced investigator showed us that «unknown Samara,» where human tragedies play out on platforms and stretches of track.

‘He was a lawyer, she was an accountant. And then suddenly…’

Our conversation with the head of the Samara investigative department begins not with dry statistics but with pain. Colonel of Justice Rita Danielyan, barely starting to talk about her work, recalls a specific couple.

“Here in 2024: he was a lawyer, she was an accountant. Judging by what friends said, a wonderful, successful family. And then such a random accident at Stakhanovskaya station. It«s simply the senseless death of good people. Why is it like this?” Rita Sanzhanovna»s voice grows quieter.

Why? It turns out the reason is banal and therefore even more frightening. People let one train pass, but without waiting for the last carriage, that very «tail,» to leave, they start crossing the tracks. And from behind this «tail,» another train moving on the adjacent track emerges. It«s not seen or heard. A »successful life« ends in a second.

It«s not malice or fate. It»s just a chain of small mistakes, inattention, a false sense of security. The railroad does not forgive these errors.

From 90-year-olds to teenagers with headphones: portraits of the victims

Who ends up in the reports? The age varies widely. The picture painted by Rita Danielyan shows that danger is not selective.

“Adults, nearly 90 years old, try to run across. And they lose their lives because of a stuck wheeled cart. You know, those shopping bags on wheels people take to the market. They might stand there, tugging at that cart, until a train hits them. Teenagers with gadgets who see and hear nothing around them. In most cases, it«s inattention, rushing. It»s gadgets, phones, headphones—they«re looking anywhere but at the road,” the investigator says.

But there are also those who come to the tracks deliberately. This part of the transport investigators« work is the hardest psychologically. And here too, there is most often no grand drama, but rather momentary »stupidities,« as the investigator calls them.

“Out of stupidity. Here, 30,000 rubles (about $400 at current rates), seems like a small loan, but a 19-year-old boy went and did it. He even recorded a farewell video message for his mother. It«s very stupid. Completely disproportionate,” Rita recounts.

Train surfing and selfies: death for likes

Despair is one side. The other is adrenaline, bravado, and a desire to stand out. And here, young people come to the fore.

Train surfing. This isn«t just riding on the outside of carriages. According to Danielyan, a new, more sophisticated form of extreme activity has emerged.

“One stands aside and films with a phone, and the second tries to synchronize with the speed of the train. They let the train get as close as possible, literally at the last moment lie down under it. The train rushes over them, and they get up and calmly walk away. The driver is horrified! He is sure he just ran over a person, but there«s no body. That is their goal. Then they post this video online for likes.”

Just imagine the state of the driver who is sure he just killed a person, but there«s no body. And the work of investigators who have to figure out this mystification.

Selfies on tank cars. Several years ago there was another terrible trend.

“Girls in bright clothes would climb onto fuel oil tank cars for selfies. They«d extend a selfie stick, and there—4000 volts! And the person was just thrown from a height of four meters (about 13 feet).”

Electrocution is a separate and very current cause of death among teenagers. According to data from the Samara Transport Investigative Committee, just in the last two years, four people have died, and in the «record» past year—five minors died on the railroad.

‘Fishing on the rails’: the absurdity that kills

What other reasons could there possibly be? It turns out human carelessness knows no bounds.

“On our railroad… they go fishing. Can you imagine? Yes, that happens too. People just sit down or even lie down to rest on the tracks,” Danielyan says.

One such «fisherman» was sitting on a curve. A train only starts honking when it comes out of the curve. The person doesn«t have time to get away. Such a case happened near the Tatyanka River. The »fisherman« was knocked down from the railroad bridge several meters.

Black statistics and Samara«s »hot spots«

Railroad tracks lure us like a straight line on a map. Why go around if you can go straight? And people walk, not looking back, absorbed in their thoughts. Meanwhile, a train moves silently along the rails like a shadow. Are you sure you«ll have time to jump aside when you finally hear it?

The investigative department has its own map of «hot spots» in Samara Oblast. These are places where injuries on the railroad tracks occur with frightening regularity. According to Rita Danielyan, these are the stations:

• Kirovkombinat
• Stakhanovskaya
• Chapayevsk
• Zubchaninovka (where the number of cases has increased over the last three years)

Why exactly there? Often these are districts where residential development comes right up to the tracks. People make holes in fences to shorten their path. These «folk trails» become roads of death.

“Samara is the largest transport hub in the entire Volga region. And this developed infrastructure, alas, has a flip side: in terms of the number of incidents on the railroad, our region, unfortunately, is consistently among the sad leaders,” says the transport investigator.

Who is to blame?

What about the drivers? Are they always to blame? Contrary to popular belief, no. Every incident is thoroughly investigated.

“We check absolutely everything. Did the driver follow instructions? If yes—that is grounds to refuse to initiate a criminal case. If not—we initiate one,” Rita Danielyan explains the principle.

She gives an example where the crew«s guilt was proven. An incident at Obsharovka station in October 2024. The electric train stood at the platform not for the regulation-prescribed one minute, but only for 29 seconds. Furthermore, the assistant driver did not conduct a full walk-around of the train to check for disembarking passengers. Also, the platform itself had poor lighting.

“A young woman with cerebral palsy was getting off from the eighth carriage. The doors started closing, trapped her, but the train had already begun to move. An elderly male witness on the platform rushed to help, scooped her up in his arms. He ran alongside the carriage, but at the end of the platform, he tripped and fell. The woman was dragged for several more meters… She died.”

Both the driver and his assistant were convicted. This is that rare case where the tragedy could have been prevented—simply by doing their job.

Can you get compensation?

What to do if an injury on the railroad has already occurred? Along with the investigation, the legal mechanism is also launched.

“The victim or their relatives have the right to demand compensation through the courts. The defendant will be Russian Railways (RZD), since railroad transport by law is considered a source of increased danger,” the investigator explains.

A claim can be filed independently through a lawyer or through the Kuibyshev Transport Prosecutor«s Office. In most cases, victims exercise this right.