The case summarized A woman died after being hit by the Bybanen at Danmarksplass in Bergen. This is the third fatal accident after being hit by the light rail in 2024. Light rail drivers experience near misses almost every day, and many dread going to work. Several have chosen to quit because of this. Light rail drivers believe that people have little respect for the almost 90 tonnes that a light rail carriage weighs, and many move out into the track directly in front of the carriage. Measures being considered to prevent more accidents include lowering the speed on the Bybanen, fencing off the most dangerous places on the route and a better warning system. If the people of Bergen do not start to look ahead, it may be that the speed of the Bybanen will have to be reduced, which will result in a longer journey time between Bergen city center and the airport. The accident statistics have been good up until this year, and it is uncertain why 2024 stands out. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On Saturday, a woman was hit by a light rail car at the stop at Danmarksplass in Bergen. The woman in her 50s died. Club leader for the light rail drivers in Bergen says that they experience similar incidents almost every day. – The vast majority experience near misses, and many have experienced accidents, myself included. I had a serious accident myself in 2016, says Tommy Melbye. He tells of truck drivers who dread going to work, and that several of the truck drivers are considering quitting. The speed may have to be lowered to overcome the accident statistics. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news The drivers experience daily that people move out of the lane. – People don’t have time to run around until the track has moved on, so they choose to jump into the track, even if it’s five minutes until the next one arrives. He emphasizes that he does not know why the accident happened on Saturday, but that he will speak on a general basis about the life-threatening situations they encounter every day at work. Abnormally high number of collisions There have been three deaths following collisions with the Bybanen so far this year. Bybanen has published its own statistics on personal injuries from 2020 to September 2024. The figures for the number of incidents show that there are relatively few accidents per million carriage kilometers driven for Bybanen. – Little respect On Tuesday, Melbye and the safety representative for the light rail drivers had a meeting with other shop stewards in the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions, where they discussed the recent accidents. Although fatal accidents are rare, they experience dangerous situations every day. – People have little respect for the almost 90 tonnes that we carry. They run into the track right in front of the wagon, thinking we can stop. We can’t do that, he says. – If I drive at 70 km an hour, it takes me 250 meters to stop. It is a quarter of a kilometer. Nobody thinks about that. They think that we are a toy that can stop immediately. This photo was taken after the fatal accident between Bybanen and a man on an electric scooter in Kaigaten in Bergen. May have to slow down on the Bybanen They demand, among other things, a better warning system on the track, in addition to fencing at the most dangerous places on the route. At the stop at Danmarksplass, the Bybanesporet is fenced Photo: Sissel Rikheim / news This means, among other things, that they want a fence all the way to the transition zone at the stop at Danmarksplass, where the incident on Saturday happened. – We have to look at the individual point that should have been more controlled. But generally speaking, we want Bybanen to be an open system, says Eirik Grønstøl, safety manager at Bybanen AS. If the people of Bergen don’t step up and start looking out, they may have to slow down on the Bybanen, according to Grønstøl. This will result in longer travel times between Bergen city center and the airport. Eirik Grønstøl, security manager at Bybanen AS. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Grønstøl points out that the accident statistics have been good up until this year. He is not sure what makes 2024 stand out. – We now see that we have had a build-up of this with people being hit, and unfortunately with a very tragic outcome for several of them. Published 05.09.2024, at 16.54
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Daily near misses with the Bybanen in Bergen worry the carriage drivers – news Vestland
