C1/2002R Hazardous situation caused by hot box in passenger car at Hankasalmi on 30 January, 2002

On Wednesday January 30, 2002 a restaurant-car of a passenger train travelling from Turku to Pieksämäki had to be uncoupled from the train at Hankasalmi as due to a bearing damage. The train then ran about 40 minutes late.

The bearing damage resulted in the breaking of a restaurant-car wheelset and the wheelset controllers.

The bearing damage and the hence generated hazardous situation were most probably caused by a blistering on the wheel rim. The blister formation was presumably a result of a wheel flat that had generated in braking.

To ensure an early detection of a rise in a bearing temperature, implying a bearing damage, a sufficient number of temperature controlling hot-box detectors should be used, so as to prevent the generation of any major damage. Therefore the Accident Investigation Board of Finland reit-erates its recommendation formulated in the Investigation Report C 26/1997 R and referred to in the Investigation Reports C 2/1999 R and C 4/1999 R concerning the control and monitoring of hot-boxes and the development of relevant control equipment. Moreover the Accident Investigation Board underscores the importance of the detection of irregular situations and the communication of information thereon.

To adopt and implement these recommendations and proposals, the Finnish Rail Administration implements a project focusing on an increased number of hot-box detectors in the coming years, and VR has produced a training video film on wheel-flat and bearing-damage monitoring and detection. In this respect VR also encourages its personnel to alertness and vigilance.

C1/2002R Report (pdf, 0.31 Mt)