C7/​2007R De­rail­ment of one wheelset of a lo­co­mo­tive dur­ing shunt­ing work in Vainikkala, Fin­land, on 3 No­vem­ber 2007

13.01.2009

On Saturday 3 November 2007 at 12.59 p.m., one wheelset of a locomotive was derailed at a railway yard turnout in Vainikkala when a shunting unit was pushing wagons onto the track. The turnout tongue was twisted and the Railex locking device was damaged.

The incident occurred because the shunting worker had pressed the local turnout button reversing twice while the locomotive was on the turnout. The first wheelset derailed during the first change in position. The shunting worker gave the second command before the first operation was complete, with the result that the switch blades started turning back and the locomotive’s remaining wheelsets were directed correctly along the track.

In order to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents, the Accident Investigation Board of Finland recommends that local turnout reversing buttons be located close to the turnouts.