The locomotive driver died when a passenger train derailed when it ran into a rock slide on the Nordlandsbanen between Bjerka and Finneidfjord. The accident-prone stretch in Hemnes municipality is approximately 5 kilometers long. news has gone through NVE’s register of landslide incidents on this stretch since 1996, when a fatal mudslide claimed four lives. Four people lost their lives, one of whom was never found. Four people died in a mudslide in 1996 in Finneidfjord. Photo: NTB Since then, 31 landslide incidents have been recorded in the area from Bjerka to Finneidfjord. On Thursday last week came what was probably the 32nd registration, where another life was lost: Nordlandsbanen has the most landslides news has asked Bane Nor to check how many registrations of either earth, clay or stone landslides there have been on railways in Norway the last ten years. Anna Kirkhusmo says that the number is 863. – We know that railways and roads are prone to landslides in Norway. We take measures based on geological surveys and assessments. It is too early to say what could have been done differently here, she says, pointing to the scene of the accident last week. If you look at the various railway lines in Norway, it is the Nordlandsbanen that comes out worst. – The Nordlandsbanen has the most landslides both because it runs in a part of the country with steep topography (lots of mountains) and because it is a long stretch of track, explains Kirkhusmo. Solørbanen is, by comparison, fairly flat and not prone to landslides. While: – The Bergen Railway has the same challenges as the Nordland Railway with steep lateral terrain and a long stretch through rugged terrain. This applies on both sides of the high mountain. Will make the infrastructure more robust The first years after the big mudslide In 1996 there were few registrations, but from 2014 onwards there have been somewhat shorter intervals between registrations. This map shows where the train derailed, and where all NVE’s landslide registrations, also before 1996. In the last two years, by far the most registrations have been made, with respectively eight in 2023 and five so far this year. Seven of the eight last year were indeed registered on the same day. Whether it was a landslide that was the cause of Thursday’s fatal accident is the job of the police and the Accident Investigation Board to find out. But the pictures show that there were large stones, earth and mass in the tracks. Photo: Ingvart Strand Mølster The CEO of Bane Nor, Thor Gjermund Eriksen, is aware that we can expect more train derailments in the coming years. – Climate, water and weather events are a bigger challenge than before. We know that we will have more climate events, and therefore I am happy that the government and the Storting are allocating more for maintenance and renewal. – We know that roads and tracks in Norway are unfortunately prone to landslides, and we work to reduce the risk as far as possible, says Bane Nor director Thor Gjermund Eriksen. He visited the accident site at Finneid before the weekend. Photo: Frank Nygård / news Eriksen adds: – Precisely to make the infrastructure more robust. New such incidents are coming, and we must prepare for them and become better at preventing them. E6 at Finneidfjord has also been exposed to a number of incidents related to storms and climate in recent years. More security measures Back to Nordlandsbanen and the Bjerka – Finneidfjord section. Anna Kirkhusmo says that a lot of avalanche protection has been done in this area on the Nordlandsbanen: These are the protection measures that have been taken since 2015 2015: Established terrain trench in connection with an avalanche. 2016: Measures to clear the terrain and improve the ditch. Made after derailment a little further south. 2018: Extensive security work with netting and bolting at the same place where the derailment occurred on Thursday last week. 2021: Geological assessment, minor measures were carried out. 2022: NGI carried out a landslide survey of the entire Nordlandsbanen. There was no assessment of the need for measures at this location because a number of measures had already been taken here. Two years ago, it was decided not to do more in the area, as many measures had already been taken. There is no race warning on the stretch where the accident occurred. Photo: Lars Petter Kalkenberg / news – In addition, we have periodic checks of gutters and side terrain. We have checked the side terrain this year on this stretch. There were no points marked as needing follow-up, adds Kirkhusmo. Must get better at preventing Of other large landslides in the area in recent years, there are two that stand out in addition to the one in 1996 and the incident on Thursday: on 13 May 2014, a landslide occurred over the track on the Nordlandsbanen just south of Finneidfjord. The reason is unclear. On 3 October 2016, two people were slightly injured when the train derailed north of Bjerka (on the section towards Finneidfjord) after hitting a boulder. News story about the mudslide in 1996. As recently as last year, there was also a mudslide over the E6 in the area. The CEO of Bane Nor, Thor Gjermund Eriksen, emphasizes that he does not want to speculate on the connection between this accident and several climate events, but he is nevertheless concerned that we must get better at prevention. – It is an acknowledgment that we need to maintain the railway infrastructure better. In its NTP, followed up by the Storting, the government has allocated quite a lot more money for maintenance and renewal. It should be done, he says and adds: – We know that we are experiencing more weather and climate events. We need to make the infrastructure more robust. A mudslide over the E6 in January 2023. Photo: Line Losvik Serious Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård, who visited the accident site on Friday, was clear that the first priority is to find out what has happened. The fact that it is not the first time such accidents have occurred in the area does not make the situation any less serious. – Our job is to ensure that people can be transported safely and securely using all possible forms of transport, including the railway. – Such incidents are very serious for us. Work was done late on both Thursday and Friday so that various actors can travel safely while they investigate the area. Photo: Thomas Sætveit Jensen / TV Klipp When asked about the fact that there was a landslide in the area in 1996, and that the municipality of Hemnes is prone to landslides, the minister replies: – There is always work going on when it comes to landslides and securing all our infrastructure. The Accident Investigation Board must carry out its investigations before we go into details about this incident. Published 30.10.2024, at 16.17
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