A traffic control error led the train to the wrong tracks in Kouvola.
IL
The train was diverted onto the wrong tracks in Kouvola on Friday.
IC63 running between Helsinki and Oulu was diverted onto the wrong track in Kouvola at the Hiillosensalmi railway station. At the same time, the freight train steered onto the siding, which is next to the station platform.
The error was noticed immediately. To get back on the right track, the passenger train had to reverse back to the switch.
Can’t crash
VR responded to the citizen’s surprise about the cancellation policy in X by telling that the locomotive driver cannot decide which tracks to use in the situation.
Although VR is responsible for the trains rolling on the tracks, rail traffic control is the responsibility of Fintraffic.
Head of Fintraffic’s Kouvola traffic management Jori Hokkanen says that Friday’s traffic control error was a human error and the trains went head-on onto each other’s tracks. The freight train continued its journey from the station as usual, but IC63 had to be diverted back to the intended track.
– You can’t leave passengers on the train without a platform and send them off along the wreath, Hokkanen justifies.
The cancellation took 10–15 minutes of extra time.
Hokkanen says that the traffic control error did not cause dangerous situations.
– It is not possible for trains to collide under normal circumstances. It cannot be caused by hand in practice.
As a rule, traffic control is automated. In situations where the train route is not scheduled, control is also handled manually. Such situations include, for example, urgent goods transport or exceptional train schedules due to delays.
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