R2019-01 Collision of a freight train with a trackwork machine between Puhos and Kesälahti on 9 December 2019

On Monday 9 December 2019 at 3:00 pm, a freight train travelling from Joensuu to Kouvola collided with a drilling machine used to take soil samples on the track between Kesälahti and Puhos. The site of the accident is located 15 kilometres south from the Kitee railway station.

The drilling machine operator was operating the machine standing sideways with the back towards the direction of the freight train. The drilling machine operator happened to look back and saw the lights of the approaching train. The operator warned the person taking the soil samples at the site, who moved to safety on the eastern side of the track. The drilling machine operator placed a beam against the rails in order to reverse the machine off the rails to the western side of the track. While the operator was reversing the drilling machine off the rails, the machine turned sideways, at which time the engine driver perceived the machine and the two persons. The engine driver gave a sound signal and braked. The speed of the train was 62 km/h at the time. The drilling machine was already almost completely off the rails, when the front corner of the locomotive hit the machine’s front left corner at a speed of 30 km/h.

No one was injured, but the drilling machine was badly damaged and the corner of the obstruc-tion clearing device of the locomotive suffered damage. The rail and the track equipment did not suffer damage. The total costs caused by the accident were around €100 000. Train traffic at the site of the accident was interrupted for approximately 50 minutes.

The trackwork supervisor had submitted a trackwork notification for the wrong section of line by mistake. The trackwork supervisor did not use the GPS feature of the RUMA application (RUMA - mobile platform for trackwork contractor), and centralised traffic control did not check that GPS positioning was used. The accuracy of GPS positioning would have been enough to locate the trackwork in the right area. The trackwork supervisor had not checked the location based on track elements or location markers before going on the track, either. Neither did the traffic controller use them to confirm the location of trackwork during voice communications.

The map in the RUMA system does not support the identification of the trackwork site on sections of line in particular. The traffic controllers must use several different information systems and their maps. The systems do not exchange information with each other. There are general deficiencies in the training and competence related to locating trackwork, and the trackwork supervisors do not take full advantage of the features of the RUMA application.

In order to avoid similar accidents in the future, the Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) ensure that:

1. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency orders the use of GPS positioning to be mandatory in locating trackwork.

2. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency harmonises the location instructions for the railway network so that location markers are used in addition to the track elements in the voice com-munications between centralised traffic control and the trackwork supervisor, if necessary.

3. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency harmonises the maps used for locating trackwork.

4. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency emphasises competence assurance in auditing the training of trackwork companies.

R2019-01 Report in Finnish (pdf, 2.58 Mt)

R2019-01 Conclusions (pdf, 0.01 Mt) R2019-01 Safety recommendations (pdf, 0.01 Mt) R2019-01 Data summary (pdf, 0.01 Mt)