2013/08
Railway report 2013/08
At 19:03 on Wednesday 26 September 2012, a sideswipe collision between a passenger train and a freight train was barely avoided at Dal station. The freight train was about to pass Dal station on track 2 headed for Oslo at a speed of approximately 80 km/h. The passenger train had completed boarding and alighting on track 1 and left the platform in the direction of Oslo at a permitted speed of 40 km/h. The driver of the freight train saw that the passenger train was moving and understood that something was wrong. The driver activated the emergency brake, and the freight train stopped approximately 50 metres before the points for switching between tracks 1 and 2. The driver of the passenger train noticed that the exit signal for track 1 was set to stop and activated the emergency brake. At the same time, the train was probably stopped by the ATC system for passing a stop signal. The passenger train stopped on the points between tracks 1 and 2 and was thereby on a 'hostile' train route in relation to the freight train. This report is in Norwegian only.
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendations JB no 2013/06T
The Norwegian National Rail Administration (NNRA) was aware of the risk of passing a stop signal at Dal station. It took nearly six years from the first reports about Dal station were recorded until physical changes were made to the signalling system. Previous investigation reports show several examples of accidents where the NNRA has been aware of the risk before an accident occurred. This risk concerns both reported undesirable incidents and maintenance thresholds that have been exceeded or not identified.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway recommends that the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate follow up that the NNRA reviews and improves the processes that are designed to identify and assess reported cases that require immediate action.
Facts
| Location | Dal Station |
| Occurrence date | 26.09.2012 |
| Train No | 1680 og 5704 |
| Type of Transportation | Freight train, Passenger train |
| Type of occurrence | Collision |
| Rolling Stock | Freight wagon, Locomotive, Multippel Unit (MU) |