Report on railway accident at Dombås Station 13 January 2012, train 5701
Railway report 2013/01 eng
On Friday 13 January 2012 at 22:44, CargoNet AS freight train 5701 derailed at Dombås Station. There were two drivers in locomotive 1, and neither of these was injured in the incident. Train 5701 consisted of 2 locomotives and 16 wagons.
Prior to the derailment, there had been other problems with locomotive 2, registration number 119-003. This locomotive had been pulling wagons from Alnabru to Dovre, where it stopped because of a fault message. The driver explained that there had been some vibration in the locomotive at speeds over 60 km/h. The first fault message was noted at 17:02, and the train stopped at Dovre at approximately 17:06. The fault message in the locomotive indicated that there were problems with bogie no 1, which was the rearmost bogie in the direction of travel. The problem was that this bogie was not receiving tractive power, and the train had to remain stationary, blocking any traffic past Dovre. With the assistance of the duty officer at CargoNet AS, the driver attempted to find the fault on the locomotive, but they gave up after a while. Locomotive number 119-003 still had tractive power to bogie 2, but was not capable of moving under its own steam. Heavy snow was falling that day, and this contributed to making the driving conditions difficult. The traffic controller agreed to allow passenger train 45 to help push freight train 5701 onto track 2 at Dovre. When train 5701 had been pushed onto track 2 at Dovre, the driver was relieved at about 19:00.
At about 21:35, an extra locomotive, number 119-004, arrived at Dovre, in order to pull the train to Trondheim. After the train was connected and the brakes tested, it was given clearance from the traffic controller to proceed north towards Trondheim. Shortly after the train left Dovre, the driver was contacted by the traffic controller, who reported an alarm signal from points 2 after the train had passed. The ‘fault in points’ alarm message can indicate a derailment, and the train was stopped immediately. The driver then made an external examination of the train in deep snow, but could not find any kind of irregularities. The driver contacted the traffic controller and reported the results of the investigation, and was given the go-ahead to continue.
At 22:44, the train arrived at Dombås Station, and just as the train passed points no. 3, the drivers felt the locomotive jerk, and heard a bang. At that point, the train had separated between locomotive 119-004 and locomotive 119-003, and the derailment had occurred.
Photo: AIBN
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendation RW no. 2013/01T
The first thing that failed before the train derailed at Dombås, was the primary support (torque link) for one of the engines. After that, the engine was held in place by the emergency support, which is the final barrier before the engine comes lose. After a while, the emergency support also failed, so that the engine dropped towards the track. The railway legislation requires documentation to be available of the vehicle having been tested on the track with respect to operational loads and anti-derailment safety. It is the railway undertaking CargoNet AS that has overriding responsibility for the safety of the rolling stock it uses. The manufacturer Bombardier is carrying out work on track measurements in Norway, and calculation of expected service life and loads on the torque links and emergency supports for the engines.
The AIBN recommends that the Norwegian Railway Authority follows up that CargoNet AS is able to document that the railway legislation's requirements are met as far as supports and emergency supports for engines are concerned, based on actual loads, including track power measurements carried out in Norway.
Facts
| Location | Dombås Station |
| Occurrence date | 13.01.2012 |
| Train No | 5701 |
| Type of Transportation | Freight train |
| Type of occurrence | Derailment |
| Rolling Stock | Freight wagon, Locomotive |
| Section | Dovrebanen |