C30/​1997R Wire lay­ing train col­lid­ing with por­tal sus­pen­sion of elec­tric rail­way in Hämeen­linna, on Au­gust 27, 1997

27.08.1997

On Wednesday, August 27, 1997, a reed of a work platform of a wire laying train bumped into the cantilever of a portal suspension of an electric railway on the southern part of Hämeenlinna marshalling yard. The train was at a switch ready to turn to an unelectrified track. In the collision two hinged cantilevers, their suspension cantilevers and the upper cantilever of the portal suspension were damaged. The contact wire broke and fell down with its suspensions, thus interrupting the power supply. Three reeds of the roof platform of the wire laying train were damaged. The total financial loss produced by the incident was over FIM 35.000.

The incident caused delays in train traffic. As a result traffic was operated by diesel locomotives past the place of the incident.

The reason for the wire laying train colliding with the suspension cantilever hanging from the upper cantilever of the portal suspension of the electric railway, and the hinged cantilever there-attached, was that the suspension cantilever and the hinged cantilever were in an incorrect position with regard to the rail in the switch lane.

In order to prevent corresponding accidents in the future, the Accident Investigation Board of Finland recommends that the suspension cantilevers and hinged cantilevers of electric railways be located sufficiently high to permit a wire laying train to run beneath without lowering its reeds. This should be possible also during on-going shunting work and when entering a dead track.

Recommendation S87