Assesment on the collision of a lorry with Aittaluoto railway bridge in Pori on 11 September and 18 September 2026
05.11.2026
11.09.2026
05.11.2026
Railroad (R)
R2026-E1
Accident
The Safety Investigation Authority assessed two cases involving the collision of a truck with a railway bridge on the line to Aittaluoto on Outokummuntie road in Pori. The first collision took place on Friday 11 September and the second on 18 September. The first collision displaced both the bridge and the railway track. The second did not cause any material damage.
EVENTS
The first collision took place after 8 a.m. on 11 September, when the cargo compartment of a truck driving on the Outokummuntie road in the Koivistonluoto direction collided with a railway bridge that crossed the road. During the collision, the bridge moved sideways, and it shifted out of position. The damage to the bridge was not visible to road users. The lorry’s demountable body was damaged during the collision.
The lorry driver reported the incident to their employer. A member of the company’s staff informed the City of Pori about the incident by telephone. Another person first called VR-Group Ltd, which advised the caller to contact the party responsible for infrastructure, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency directed the caller to report the matter to the Traffic Customer Service, a service maintained by the Economic Development Centre, which was not yet open at the time.
After the Traffic Customer Service opened at 9:00, the person called the customer service again, and the call was received at 9:07. The official who received the notification referred information about the incident by email to the rail infrastructure supervisor for the railway maintenance area. The rail infrastructure supervisor contacted the track maintenance operator, who sent a railway maintenance crew to inspect the bridge.
Once the crew had reached the scene, the person responsible for track work noticed that there was damage to the bridge and railway track and contacted the railway traffic control. Railway traffic control suspended train traffic on the track section at 12:56.
On 11 September, only one freight train was operating on the track section, T 7154 from Aittaluoto to Kouvola. Train was scheduled to depart at 14.30. The departure was cancelled, and the train stayed at Aittaluoto. The repair of the bridge was completed on Monday 14 September at 11:09, and the freight train that had been stranded at Aittaluoto was driven out of the track section.
In the second collision in the afternoon of 18 September, a lorry driving on Outokummuntie road towards Koivistonluoto collided with the railway bridge over the road. The collision was less severe than that of 11 September. An eyewitness to the collision urged the driver to call the emergency response centre, where it was noted that the City of Pori was responsible for the matter.
By chance, the eyewitness happened to have contact information of the person who had inspected the bridge after the previous collision. Eyewitness called him, and he contacted the railway traffic control. One freight train crossed the bridge before traffic was suspended on the track section at 16.22. The damage to the bridge proved to be minor during the inspection, and the track section was reopened to traffic on the same day at 17:30 pm.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The single-track railway bridge of the Aittaluoto railway over the Outokumpu road has a steel structure and wooden railway sleepers. The bridge is supported at both ends by stone retaining walls.
Vehicles with a maximum height of 3.6 metres are permitted to pass under the bridge. The height is given in traffic signs before the bridge and is visible when approaching from both directions. When travelling along the Outokummuntie road towards the Pori city centre, drivers encounter mechanical height warning devices on the approaches of the bridge. The mechanical warning devices encountered by drivers travelling to the Koivistonluoto direction were removed a few years ago. Before the first collision, the lorry had been fitted with a taller demountable body.
According to the instructions on the Fintraffic Road Ltd website, in the event of acute and hazardous road traffic disruptions, the road user must report the matter to the Road User Line by telephone. The website also provides instructions for reporting cases to Traffic Customer Service maintained by the Economic Development Centre. According to the instructions on the website, the Traffic Customer Service provides information on state-owned roads, the railway network and waterways. You can also ask for advice, report a problem and submit development suggestions related to road maintenance. The Traffic Customer Service telephone service is open from Monday to Thursday from 9:00 to 14:00 and on Fridays from 9:00 to 12:00.
Image 1. Instructions for road users on reporting incidents on the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s website (Image: Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency)
The above only applies to the road network administered by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. On the road network of cities and municipalities, the party responsible for the road should be notified of the matter.
In urgent situations where there is a risk of accident, the parties should always contact the Emergency Response Centre, which must take measures to reach the correct authorities to prevent further damage. Emergency Response Centres have direct access to Fintraffic Railway Ltd’s traffic control service centres, which can suspend railway traffic if a potentially hazardous situation is suspected.
OBSERVATIONS
Several collisions of heavy vehicles with a railway bridge occur in Finland every year. At first incident, damage to the bridge and the track may appear minor. However, the collision may cause damage to the track, which could result into a train derailment.
In the collision on 11 September, damage to the bridge posing a risk to railway traffic was only identified in an inspection carried out by the track maintenance operator. Information on the accident was delayed by almost five hours before traffic was suspended on the track section.
Not all road users are aware of which incidents should be reported and where to report the matter. The notifier and the person receiving the notification may not necessarily recognise the risk posed to another mode of transport. In addition, there is a lack of cohesive procedures for how reports are relayed to rail traffic control.
As it is difficult for road users to assess the severity of the situation, the person receiving the notification must promptly initiate measures to suspend traffic and check for damage.
After the collisions, the Economic Development Centre’s Traffic Customer Service service has specified operating models for situations where they receive a report of a collision with road infrastructure.
The City of Pori has initiated measures to install a height warning device on the approach to the bridge in question for those driving in the direction of Koivistonluoto. The installation is expected to take place in 2026.
The assessment found that a safety investigation conducted by the Safety Investigation Authority would not provide significant additional information that would lead to substantial safety improvements. The Safety Investigation Authority, Finland (SIAF) will not initiate a safety investigation into the incident.
Mr. Lasse Laatta
Chief Safety Investigator,
Rail
02951 50709
firstname.lastname@om.fi