Report on personal accident, Romsås metro station 10 October 2017
Railway report 2017/06
On 10 October 2016, a wheelchair user reversed out of the rearmost door of a metro train, which was partly beyond the platform at Romsås station. The wheelchair and user fell down between the track and the tunnel wall, and the wheelchair user sustained minor injuries.
A passenger who was trying to help sustained electric shock injuries after touching the wheelchair, which was probably in contact with the train’s electrical components. The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) is of the opinion that neither the train driver nor the passenger foresaw the risk of an electric shock being conducted via the wheelchair.
Metro trains normally operate with three to six carriages, and, depending on their length, they are meant to stop at designated marks on the platform. There are no technical or operational barriers that ensure that metro trains stop at the correct mark. This is mainly the responsibility of the train driver. As train drivers alternate between different lines and train lengths, combined with monotonous and, in part, automated work, errors in judgement will occur. The AIBN believes greater awareness is needed of the importance of stopping both three-carriage and six-carriage trains in the correct position. Measures implemented to increase awareness should subsequently be followed up by measuring whether the desired effect has been achieved.
As a consequence of the accident, the AIBN makes one safety recommendation to Sporveien T-banen AS, in which it requests that measures are implemented to ensure that metro trains stop more precisely at the correct stop marks.
Safety recommendation
Safety reccomendation JB No 2017/06T
On 10 October 2016, a metro train stopped in an incorrect position at Romsås station, such that the two rearmost doors were beyond the end of the platform. A wheelchair user reversed out of the train and sustained minor injuries when falling down between the track and the tunnel wall. There are no technical barriers that ensure that metro trains stop at the correct stop marks.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway advises the Norwegian Railway Authority to ask Sporveien T-banen AS to implement measures to ensure that metro trains stop more precisely at the correct stop marks.
Facts
| Location | Romsås metro station |
| Occurrence date | 10.10.2016 |
| Train No | 511 |
| Type of Transportation | Metro |
| Type of occurrence | Embarking and disembarking |
| Rolling Stock | Multippel Unit (MU) |