Walter Square Metro Accident

Walter Square Metro Accident was a tragic event that occured on friday of August 8th, 1986.

Background

On 8th of August 1986 near the Walter Square station, a 5-car metro unit, carrying 86 passangers, was accidentally routed to secret train tunnel connecting the metro network with the S.N.W Bunker, which otherwise was normally used to serve cargo trains going in and out of the bunker. The metro unit crashed and derailed at a cargo dock in the bunker, derailing another cargo wagon stationed at the dock that was carrying radiactive material. All of the passangers on board survived the impact, however they were exposed to the high amounts of radiation.

All passangers were apprehended and held against their will at the bunker afterwards. Due to high-risk of exposing the S.N.W Project, the leadership ordered the execution of the passangers and began rearangements to shut down the bunker. The metro unit itself was considered to be either dismantled or transported out to a different site, however the decision on that was never finilized.

On 10th of August an S.M.V outbreak forced a sudden evacuation and an immediate abandonment of the bunker, leaving both the metro unit and some of the bodies of the executed still on the site.

Aftermath

In the aftermath, the S.N.W worked with Stalburg Mass Transit to cover up the accident, claiming that the metro unit has entered an old and unused tunnel, and when doing so, caused vibrations that triggered the collapse of said tunnel. No rescue missions were conducted in light of those claims, as the city authorities stated it would be too difficulty and dangerous to perform.

Over the years after, the event had become a symbol for people prostesting about the poor and dangerous state of the metro tunnels. A memorial for the passangers was enacted at the Stalburg Central Railway Station middle level platform, where people since have shared the photos of the deceased, including vandalism among them. Lack of clear and definitive answers around the incident at the time fueled the theories among the people about the true circumstances of it. A Justice for the Metro Victims civic group was also created, whose cause and values align with the advocacy of Public Transport Workers Union members, as many of them also lost relatives in the accident.

On the day of 30th anniversary of the accident in 2016, engineer Markku Siltanen uncovered the corruption related to the cover-up as he visit old Stalburg Mass Transit offices and the crash-site at the bunker itself. His findings, among other evidences of corruption from the city officials, would later be published, revealing the truth to the public and resulting in prosecution of those involved.