“Trains Stuck in Tunnels with Passengers for Hours: Unacceptable Railway Incidents Persist Despite Prior Warning”

“It is not acceptable for trains with passengers to remain in a tunnel for several hours”. This was established by the Railway Authority earlier this year. On Monday it happened again.

At 12.30 on Monday there was a complete standstill for a local train heading towards Moss. It happened as the train drove through the Blixtunnel between Oslo and Ski. The contact lineThe contact lineA catenary is an electrically live wire that is strung across the railway track to provide power to the train. the ceiling had fallen down.

The tunnel is part of the brand new Folloban at NOK 37 billion. It has modern solutions for safety and evacuation.

Nevertheless, 70 passengers were stuck in the train just a few kilometers from Oslo S for three hours, partly in the dark, before the train was finally pulled out again.

The fact that it took three hours to get the passengers out makes the train operator Vy react.

– You have to evaluate this incident carefully and see what could have been done to get the passengers out faster, says communications manager Åge-Christoffer Lundeby in Vy.

But it was not long ago that a similar incident led precisely to evaluation, scrutiny – and rambunctious criticism.

Supervision: Unacceptable with hours in the tunnel

On 12 December last year, two trains stopped inside the Romerikstunnel. 554 passengers were stuck inside the tunnel for approximately four hours.

– It is not acceptable for trains with passengers to stand in a tunnel for several hours, the Norwegian Railway Authority then stated.

Bane Nor is responsible for the infrastructure at the railway. They are also responsible for rescuing passengers who become stuck.

The inspection made it clear that Bane Nor must prioritize the “rescue” of passengers who become stuck on trains in a tunnel rather than further traffic management at the scene of the incident.

A new NOK 50 million rescue train was ready at Oslo S, but was never put into use.

Frustrated passengers

Aftenposten spoke on Monday with one of the passengers on the train that got stuck in the Blix tunnel. He said that the atmosphere on the train was tense. Many were frustrated. Several students were on their way to Norway’s University of the Environment and Life Sciences at Ås to take their exams.

Others were thoroughly late for work.

The passengers were told that they would be picked up by another train within one hour. So it took three hours.

Vy’s communications manager says he is sure that their people on the train did what they could to keep the travelers informed. But that they were dependent on getting information from outside.

– It is difficult to provide good information when you do not know what is happening, he says.

Vy will follow up on yesterday’s incident.

– It is Bane Nor that will lead the work to get the passengers out. We are not familiar with why it took three hours, says Lundeby in Vy.

He says they need to know more about what happened before they are willing to say much more.

– But yes, we think it is a long time.

Did not use evacuation option

The passengers stuck in the Blixtunnel were eventually taken out by their train being pulled out by another train. Another possible form of evacuation would have been for the passenger to go to the nearest evacuation route.

Throughout the entire Blixtunnel, there is a cross connection between the two tunnel runs every 500 metres. This means that it is never more than 250 meters to the nearest exit.

One of the evacuation corridors was right outside one of the doors on the train. It shows a photo that one of the passengers took.

– Took time to ground the wire

15,000 volts flow through the power line that runs through the tunnel. In order for the passengers to be able to leave the train, you have to be sure that the power has been cut and that there is no power going astray, explains Bane Nor.

– Why should it take so long to be sure that there is no electricity there?

– We are working to investigate the course of events yesterday. There are several professional environments involved, so we will have to come back to that when we have got the facts on the table and mapped the sequence of events internally at Bane Nor, answers Anne Kirkhusmo. She is the press officer at Bane Nor.

Supervision: Bane Nor lacks routines

After train passengers were stuck at Romeriksporten for hours this winter, the Railway Authority determined, among other things, the following:

• That Bane Nor “must prioritize rescuing the trains and evacuating the passengers within a reasonable time”.
• That Bane Nor “does not satisfy the requirements of the regulations when it comes to safeguarding safety and preparedness, including coordination of preparedness with traffic operators”. Bane Nor disagreed with this.
• That Bane Nor lacks routines for prioritizing the rescue of trains and passengers when stopped in a tunnel.

The Norwegian Railway Authority wrote in the report that the passengers must be rescued within a reasonable time. They write that “reasonable time” should not exceed 45–60 minutes, unless it is specifically documented how the safety of the travelers is ensured for a longer period.

To that, Bane Nor replied that it is beyond the Norwegian Railway Authority’s mandate to comment on what is a “reasonable time”.

– Half a year ago, you received criticism that it took too long to get passengers out of a tunnel. Why aren’t you now better able to get people out faster?

– When a live cable is over the train, it is not safe to get out of it. We are working internally at Bane Nor to investigate the sequence of events. When we have got the facts on the table and reviewed the incident yesterday, we will be able to say why we did not get the passengers out sooner, says Kirkhusmo.

She adds that they fully understand that it is a long time for passengers to have to wait three hours.