Ac­ci­dent in­volv­ing an ex­ca­va­tor in track work that turned in front of a train in Taavetti on 29 Sep­tem­ber 2025

11.11.2025

The Safety Investigation Authority, Finland assessed a collision between the freight train T2346 and an excavator involved in track work on the Taavetti-Kaitjärvi line section on 29 September at 19:37. The excavator turned in front of the freight train running on the adjacent track, with the left rear corner of the excavator hitting the side of the locomotive and the first two wagons.

The Sr1 lo­co­mo­tive dam­aged in the col­li­sion. (Photo: VR-Fleet­Care)

One of the security persons at the scene called the emergency response centre. Emergency medical services and rescue services units were alerted to the scene. The emergency medical unit transported the injured excavator driver to the hospital.

After checking the locomotive and the wagons, the train driver concluded that it would be safe to move the train to the destination station in Kouvola. The train started off at 20:01.

The track work supervisor who arrived at the accident site informed the traffic control that the track must be inspected before it may be opened to traffic. During the inspection, the track work supervisor found that the force of the collision had caused a lateral shift on the track. Due to track repairs, traffic was interrupted for approximately four hours. The interruption of traffic caused delays in train traffic, and some passenger trains were replaced by buses. The lateral shift was repaired using a track tamping machine that was in the track work area. The line section was opened for traffic on 30 September at 0:14.

The excavator driver was discharged from the hospital the following day after medical examinations. The train driver was also subjected to a strong lateral blow in the collision and was checked up by a physician for possible injury.

The locomotive and the first two wagons were damaged in the collision. The excavator was severely damaged in the collision.

Background information

East of Kouvola, on the Taavetti-Kaitjärvi line section, the rebuilding work of the northern track superstructure was underway. The work involved dismantling the old superstructure of the track and replacing it with a new one. During the work, the southern track was used for traffic at a reduced speed of 80 km/h. One track work supervisor was responsible for the safety of the entire track work area. At the time of the accident, work was carried out at three different sites in the area.

At the time of the incident, two working teams, each consisting of a tracked excavator and a security person, were working close to each other at the site. The security persons warned the excavator drivers about approaching trains with a sound signal and by radiotelephone. At the work site, there was one pneumatic horn and only two radiotelephones in use. For this reason, the security persons acted in such a way that, when they spotted an approaching train, one of them warned the excavator drivers with a sound signal and the other with a radiotelephone. After receiving the warning, the excavator drivers interrupted their work until the train had passed them.

The security persons worked under the contractor’s work supervision. During their shift, the security officers had not had time to take any breaks, which may have affected their ability to make observations.

On the eastern side of the excavator’s work area, in the direction from where the train came, another machine was working at the time of the accident. The lights of this machine may have made it difficult to detect an approaching train.

The work shift for excavator drivers and security persons had started on 29 September at 7:00. The work on the site continued 24 hours a day on 12-hour shifts. At the time of the incident, a shift change between the security persons was in progress. The work of the excavators had not been stopped while the security persons were changing shifts.

Observations

The security person system is widely used in Finland to secure track work. The system has generally been considered reliable, but it is prone to human error. During the current year, the Safety Investigation Authority has been informed of two other incidents related to the security person system in which the security person did not notice an approaching train.

The instructions issued by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency make it possible to use the security person system very extensively in different types of situations, including ones where there is a risk of a serious collision. The instructions do not directly define what kinds of breaks the staff should take or the procedure to follow when security persons are changing shifts. However, these have been considered part of the responsibilities of the party assigning the security persons.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has identified risk factors related to the security person system and has launched measures to improve safety. The measures include monitoring incidents; promoting the training of security persons and ensuring their competence; safety meetings with operators; updating basic and refresher training materials; and preparing information material for track maintenance operators.

The Safety Investigation Authority considers that the measures taken by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency can improve the safety of track work. It should be noted that track work is not subject to direct supervision by the authorities. Instead, the supervision is carried out as self-monitoring specified in the infrastructure manager’s safety management system.

In addition, the Safety Investigation Authority points out that technical solutions exist to support the safety person system and to warn employees about passing train traffic. They are called Automatic Track Warning Systems (ATWS). These are widely used to improve the safety of track work, for example, in Central European countries.

After the incident, the procedures related to the shift changes of security persons have been specified, and the importance of stopping work while trains are passing has been highlighted at the Taavetti-Kaitjärvi site.

Based on the report, no safety investigation will be initiated into the incident. The Safety Investigation Authority monitors reports related to the safety of track work and initiates investigations if necessary.

Selvityksen liittyvä muu sisältö