Report on near-collision between freight train and passenger train at Bolna Station on the Nordland Line on 11 May 2022
Railway report 2023/02
On Wednesday 11 May 2022, a situation arose that nearly resulted in a sideswipe collision between the rearmost wagon of southbound freight train 5784 and northbound passenger train 479 as the two trains were to pass each other at Bolna station. The freight train was directed to the passing loop (track 2), and preparations were made to allow the passenger train to run straight through the station on track 1. As the passenger train was passing through the station, the driver noticed that the rearmost wagon of the freight train projected into track 1, and applied the emergency brake. The collision was thereby avoided.
Bolna station has single-entry signals and is located on a section of the Nordland Line without remote traffic control. On sections without remote traffic control, traffic is managed by a local traffic controller on behalf of the traffic controller. Bolna station was manned by a local traffic controller when the incident took place.
The local traffic controller did not notice that the rearmost wagon of the freight train was not within the fouling point. No inspection was carried out after the points had been returned from track 2 to track 1. The local traffic controller had recently graduated from the Norwegian Railway Academy and had been approved by Bane NOR SF. The day of the incident was the first time the local traffic controller had manned Bolna station alone, after completing half a day of local training.
When trains pass each other in this type of station, safe traffic management is ensured by operational barriers alone. It is important that the right activities are carried out in the right order at the right time. The rules and procedures for local traffic control are therefore detailed. No checklists were used during the operation to aid the passing of the trains. Checklists can be useful to ensure that critical activities are carried out during traffic management.
Based on the decisions adopted and initiated by Bane NOR after this serious railway incident, the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA) does not propose any safety recommendations.
Published 09.05.2023
Facts
| Location | Bolna station, Nordland county |
| Occurrence date | 11.05.2022 |
| Type of Transportation | Freight train, Passenger train |
| Type of occurrence | Collision |
| Rolling Stock | Freight wagon, Multippel Unit (MU) |
| Operator | SJ Norge AS |