C5/2001R Excavators colliding between the Vihanti and Tuomioja section of line, on May 7, 2001

On Monday 7 May 2001 a railway worker was injured when two rail-going excavators collided on the Vihanti-Tuomioja section of line. The excavators were travelling on the railway line towards a sleeper replacement site. In the accident a railway worker was squeezed between the excavators and seriously injured.

The accident was a result of a slackening viewing vigilance of the driver of the second excavator as he was concentrating on looking for a start sign difficult to detect in the sleeper. As due to the high speed of the second excavator, the driver failed to stop the machine in time, and hence it collided with the rear end of the first machine. There were two railway workers sitting in the accessories box in the rear of the first excavator and one of them was seriously injured in the accident.

In order to prevent corresponding accidents, the Accident Investigation Board of Finland recommends that also external contractors study carefully the Train Safety Regulations (Junaturvallisuussääntö) and rigorously abide by them. It is lower transfer speeds to work sites, vigilant viewing, and interdiction of transportation of people in excavators that will prevent repeated occurrences of corresponding accidents in the future.

C5/2001R Report (pdf, 0.25 Mt)

• Recommendation S170
• Recommendation S171
• Recommendation S172
• Recommendation S173