C6/2001R Passenger train and a tractor excavator on a collision course in Helsinki railway yard, on 31 May, 2001

On May 31, 2001, a hazardous situation was generated by a passenger train being directed to a track already occupied by a tractor excavator. The hazardous situation did not cause any per-sonal injury or material damage to the rolling stock.

The situation was caused by the dispatcher being convinced that the excavator was standing between the tracks without hampering a free flow of train traffic. When the electrician agreed on his work with the dispatcher for the first time, he requested an occupied section between turnouts V072 and V076. When entering the site the second time, the electrician requested the dispatcher for access permission between turnouts V072 and V076. The dispatcher then asked the electri-cian to confirm that rail traffic can be operated on the section of line without any restrictions. The electrician thought that the dispatcher referred to traffic travelling through turnout V075 on the adjacent track. In fact the electrician trusted that the dispatcher was already perfectly well aware of the situation, as he had no knowledge of this dispatcher being another person instead of the initial one.

In order to prevent corresponding hazardous situations, the Accident Investigation Board of Fin-land does not give any new recommendations, but reiterates its earlier recommendation on the utilization of short-circuit conductors in the securing of track occupancies in work sites.

C6/2001R Report (pdf, 0.27 Mt)

•Recommendation S119