The Vestfold line is closed between Larvik and Sandefjord after a train ran into large objects lying in the track.
No people are injured.
Among other things, there was a fire extinguisher and concrete blocks with rebar in the track, says press officer Harry Korslund in Bane Nor to NTB.
According to Korslund, the train driver observed a person with a headlamp in the area.
– This is an ugly situation that we take very seriously, says Korslund to TV 2.
– Slept something violently
The police are at the railway line at Elveveien in Larvik with several patrols, they write on Twitter.
– Earlier this evening, a train ran over some objects lying on the track. Then it hit something violent, says operations manager in the South-East police district Trond Egil Groth to TV 2.
Do you have pictures or tips? Contact TV 2 here!
When another train ran the same route an hour later, they slowed down. The train driver then discovered several objects in the train line.
– It is not God’s hand that has put it there, this is what people have done physically, says Groth.
Could track off
He emphasizes that the police take the case very seriously.
– It would be wrong to call it boyishness, because this is far more serious than that, he says.
They have now called in extra crew and resources to clarify the matter as quickly as possible. Among other things, they are looking for one or more perpetrators.
OBSERVATIONS: The train driver has said that a person with a headlamp was observed near the train line. Photo: Trond Reidar Teigen / NTB
– In the worst case scenario, the train could derail, says Groth.
Korslund in BaneNor says that if derailments occur as a result of large, heavy objects, the consequences can be great.
– It could lead to injuries to people who could have been hit by the objects at high speed, he says.
Looking for witnesses
Crews from BaneNor have now cleared the objects away from the train line, and traffic on the Vestfold Line is running again, Korslund says shortly after 10.30pm.
– The first trains we run at a slow speed on parts of the route as a little extra security, in case there are several objects in several parts of the area.
The police would like to contact any witnesses.
– There is no doubt that the objects were deliberately placed there, we are also talking about a stone slab, the police write on Twitter.
