The Prosecutor’s Office of the Gomel Region, in cooperation with staff of the Transport Inspection, examined compliance with legislation regulating the accounting and storage of strictly controlled inventory in organizations of the state union “Belarusian Railway” and in enterprises that own non‑public railway sidings.

The focus was on the rules for operating brake shoes as a critically important element for safety on railway tracks.

The inspection revealed that tools and strictly controlled inventory on several enterprises were accessible to outsiders. In some cases, the corresponding accounting books were missing. Not all organizations and enterprises had appointed an employee responsible for the safekeeping and operation of the means of securing rolling stock, the Gomel Region Prosecutor’s Office information service reported.

Instances of using brake shoes that had been improvised were identified.

Five legal entities were operating technically defective and unusable brake shoes. Management took no measures for their repair or disposal.

It was established that station managers carried out formal quarterly inspections of non‑public railway sidings. Thus, the violations of accounting and storage procedures identified by the prosecutor on five enterprises went largely unnoticed by the station managers of Rechitsa, Zhytkavichy, Mazyr, and Zhlyobin.

At certain enterprises, the inspection uncovered violations of traffic safety and railway transport operation legislation: unsatisfactory technical condition of sidings and lack of required technical documentation.

There were also violations of land and waste management laws: used ties soaked in highly toxic substances were stored on the land, and waste was stored outside the designated areas.

As a result, the Gomel Region Prosecutor’s Office filed 11 complaints against the owners of railway sidings and issued 23 directives. Following their consideration, the organizations and enterprises took measures to ensure the safekeeping of strictly controlled inventory and the safety of movement on non‑public railway sidings, and other violations were also rectified.