The faulty passenger cars, without a proper heating system, were put into service by the Srbija Voz company, which is responsible for the proper operation of passenger cars when the starting point is Belgrade, announced the Railway Transport of Montenegro (ŽPCG).
They emphasize that ŽPCG has no authority to remove vehicles from traffic while they are on the territory of Serbia.
"In accordance with applicable international railway agreements and regulations, responsibility for the technical integrity and basic maintenance of passenger cars lies with its owner, while control and exploitation in traffic are carried out according to the rules of the country on whose territory the car is operating," they explained.
While the passenger cars are on the territory of Serbia, they add, the authority to include or exclude them from traffic lies exclusively with the railway authorities of that country, Srbija Voz and Serbian Railway Infrastructure. Only upon the arrival of the train at the destination station in Bar, the competent authorities of Montenegro can take measures in accordance with domestic regulations.
ŽPCG also points out that this is not the first case in which technically defective vehicles have been put into traffic, and that the competent Montenegrin entities have repeatedly warned against such a practice and demanded strict compliance with safety and technical standards.
"We consider it unacceptable that the responsibility for such omissions is being attempted to be shifted to the Montenegrin side, especially considering that in this specific case, the official position of the competent authorities was not even requested before publishing the information in the media," the statement reads.
"Vijesti" announced today that ŽPCG did not respond to the editorial team's inquiry yesterday regarding passengers' allegations that there was no heating in the sleeping cars in which they traveled by train between Belgrade and Bar on the night of January 8th and 9th.
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