C9/2004R Member of train crew injured in shunting work on Hamina railway yard on 15 July, 2004

On Hamina railway yard on July 15, 2004 at 17.28 hours, an accident took place where a train crew member was seriously injured when he was run over by the wheels of a wagon. Later on, an arm and a leg of the worker had to be amputated.

The investigation failed to disclose the direct cause of the falling of the train crew member, but among the probable causes, there are the glove of the worker as having stuck in the wagon, the reading glasses worn by him, the speed of the shunting unit, or the unevenness of the surface of the ballast at the scene of the accident. Moreover as contributing to the generation of the accident is the fact that the tail signal lamp was in an irregular place and the worker in question failed to follow the agreed working plan.

In order to prevent corresponding accidents, the Accident Investigation Board of Finland recom-mends that the General Railway Yard Safety Regulations be supplemented with a provision that requires a shunting unit worker to advise the other shunting-unit crew members of his irregular working practice. Furthermore the Accident Investigation Board recommends that the ballast ad-jacent to the 037 track on Hamina railway yard be replaced by such ballast that meets the specifi-cations for a pedestrian passage.

C9/2004R Report (pdf, 0.47 Mt)

•Recommendation S199

•Recommendation S200