Report on trespass accident at Skarpsno, Dovrebanen line, 8 May 2016
Railway report 2017/02
In the early hours of 8 May 2016, three persons climbed onto a work train that was parked at Skarpsno between Moelv station and Rudshøgda station on the Dovrebanen line. On the weekend in question, maintenance work was being undertaken on the section. The work was concluded at approx. 16:00 on Saturday 7 May and was scheduled to restart at 6:00 on Sunday morning. While climbing onto the parked work train, one person came into contact with the overhead catenary line, causing an electric shock. The person died in the accident. The deceased was a student at Ringsaker folkehøgskole and had celebrated the end of the school year that evening.
The contact line system was de-energised while the work took place, but was live during the break in the work that night. Bane NOR SF’s internal regulations and practice indicate that catenary systems are energised when work is not being undertaken. For this reason, the project had chosen to use a guard at the site for the purpose of supervising the rolling stock. The project had conducted risk assessments, but they were not capable of identifying the risk of electric shock for third parties and therefore measures to prevent this.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) submits a safety recommendation in which Bane NOR SF is requested to conduct a risk assessment of its internal regulations and practice for connecting and disconnecting the current in overhead catenary system when rolling stock is parked on open lines.
Photo: AIBN
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendation JB No 2017/02T
On Sunday 8 May 2016, three persons climbed up onto a work train that was parked between Rudshøgda and Moelven stations on the Dovrebanen line. One person came into contact with the catenary line and died. The diesel-powered work train was undertaking ballast cleaning on the line during the weekend in question. The power supply was disconnected while the work took place, but was reconnected during breaks in the work. The current regulations do not provide sufficient guidelines for parking rolling stock during breaks in work.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) recommends that the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning ask Bane NOR SF to carry out an internal risk assessment of the regulations and practice for connecting and disconnecting the power when rolling stock is parked on open lines.
Facts
| Location | Between Rudshøgda and Moelv |
| Occurrence date | 08.05.2016 |
| Type of Transportation | Working engine |
| Type of occurrence | Trespass |
| Rolling Stock | Freight wagon |
| Section | Dovrebanen |