Investigation of two railway accidents on the Røros line
Railway report 2018/04
At 18:40 on Saturday 24 June 2017, train 2388 collided with a passenger car on Kroken VB level crossing at milepost 217.250 km on the Røros line. At 13.08 on 5 July 2017, train 2384 collided with a passenger car on Strømsøyen level crossing at milepost 336.623 km on the Røros line. None of the level crossings are secured by road barriers.
Both level crossings are on the Røros line, they are private, and are not secured by road barriers. The Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN) therefore chose to conduct a joint safety investigation of the accidents.
Unsecured level crossings are mainly found on smaller roads, on private roads and as agricultural crossings between fields and forest properties. Safety at unsecured level crossings is based on road users seeing or hearing the train in time and waiting to cross until it is safe. It is important that road users are informed that they are responsible for deciding whether it is safe to cross.
Road users’ behaviour at level crossings is influenced by their surroundings, because people’s perception and understanding of the situation differ. This means, in the AIBN’s view, that a technical barrier is needed that alerts road users of oncoming trains at unsecured level crossings. It is important that sufficient means are made available to allow Bane NOR SF to continue its work on removing, reducing and upgrading level crossings.
The AIBN proposes one safety recommendation. It concerns asking Bane NOR SF to consider barriers that are better able to attract the attention of road users at unsecured level crossings.
Photos: AIBN
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendation JB No 2018/07T
On Saturday 24 June and Wednesday 5 July 2017, two car drivers died in level crossing accidents on the Røros line. The crossing of such unsecured level crossings is based solely on the road user seeing or hearing the train in time. The barriers currently in use are not always sufficient to attract the attention of road users due to flaws in people’s perception, understanding and behaviour.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway recommends that the Norwegian Railway Authority ask Bane NOR SF to consider barriers that are better able to attract the attention of road users at unsecured level crossings.
Facts
| Location | Kroken vb railroad crossing and O.M Strømsøyen railroad crossing, Rørosbanen |
| Occurrence date | 24.06.2017 |
| Train No | 2388 and 2384 |
| Type of Transportation | Passenger train |
| Type of occurrence | Level-crossing accident |
| Rolling Stock | Multippel Unit (MU) |