Report on runaway locomotive on the Alnabru freight terminal 23. October 2023

The locomotive was later located in track C5b, approximately 170 meters from the buffer stop, without damage. The incident did not result in personal injuries or damage to vehicles.

Incidents involving a runaway vehicle on the railway are very serious and can result in severe injury to people and vehicles in the event of a derailment and/or collision. Situations with runaway vehicles at the Alnabru Freight Terminal have occurred in the past; the most serious case resulted in the Sjursøya accident in 2010. The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority believes that, despite the fact that the investigation has shown that the locomotive could not have entered to the main line, a runaway locomotive inside the terminal area in itself poses a significant risk for collision.

During this safety investigation, the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority has investigated; vehicles and infrastructure involved, carried out reconstruction of the incident, investigated operational conditions and mapping of safety management and supervision at the Alnabru terminal.

The cause of the incident was that the locomotive's parking brake was unable to hold the locomotive where it was parked when the air brake system due to leakage ran out of compressed air. The locomotive had been parked approximately twelve hours earlier at the southern end of track circuit 626 where there is an incline of 19 per thousand. The driver had applied the locomotive brake, automatic brake and the parking brake. The main brake pipe was also emptied when the battery circuit braker was opened. No test was carried out to make sure that the parking brake provided enough braking power to keep the locomotive stationary. After approximately twelve hours, enough air had leaked out of the locomotive's compressed air system, so that the compressed air brake released. The parking brake was then not sufficient to hold the locomotive, and it thus began to move.

The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority believes that several factors contributed to the incident; lack of parking brake test, the pressure in the air brake system will slowly be reduced when the compressor is not running, parking longer than normal, established and accepted practice of parking locomotives in track circuit 626, insufficient of coordination of HSE work.

The Norwegian part of Green Cargo's operations has been discontinued after the incident, therefore no safety recommendations are addressed to the railway undertaking, but the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority believes that the current railway undertakings at the Alnabru Freight Terminal, and other freight terminals in Norway, can learn from the incident and should therefore assess their own routines against the weaknesses which is pointed out in this report.

The requirement for coordination between involved railway undertakings and the principal undertaking at the Alnabru Freight Terminal was not satisfactory at the time of the incident. After the incident, Bane NOR SF has taken on the role of principal undertaking, and the Norwegian Accident Investigation Authority expects that the issue of parking in incline and possible runaway vehicles will be included in this work.

On this background the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority issues no safety recommendations following this safety investigation.

The locomotive at Alnabru freight terminal. Photo: NSIA

Published 05.12.2023