Poland says trains safe after fatal crash

SZCZEKOCINY, Poland -- The government insisted yesterday that rail travel is safe in the country despite a train collision that killed 16 people, assurances that come months before masses of sports fans will enter the country for a major soccer tournament -- many of whom will crisscross the nation by train.

Saturday night's crash, Poland's mostly deadly rail tragedy in more than two decades, raised questions about the safety of a state-run rail network, which has undergone modernization in recent years. Poland has been working to upgrade a rail system marked by the legacy of the communist decades.

The trains collided head-on in a shower of sparks and mangled metal, injuring dozens in addition to the 16 killed, near the southern town of Szczekociny, just north of Krakow. Both trains inexplicably ended up running on the same track.

Some routes today are notorious for being slower than they were even before World War II -- and the economically dynamic young member of the European Union has been pushing to change this, even as it builds skyscrapers, highways and stadiums. Several construction projects have been accelerated by the Euro 2012 soccer championship, to start in June.

President Bronislaw Komorowski called for days of national mourning Monday and Tuesday. Flags will fly at half-staff at public buildings, and concerts and sporting events will be canceled.

An American woman was killed, while other foreigners -- Ukrainians, Moldovans and a Czech citizen -- were among those taken to hospitals.

Sixty people were initially hospitalized after the crash, and 51 remained hospitalized yesterday afternoon, Health Minister Bartosz Arlukowicz said.