Easter is well under way and many are heading for the mountains and the ski slopes. Unfortunately, many people are careless when crossing the railway tracks on the Bergen Railway and other train lines in this country. – It is probably one of the worst feelings we as train drivers can experience. You immediately get a sick feeling in your stomach, says Vegard Mæland. Mæland is a locomotive driver stationed at Voss. He has several times experienced seeing people cross the railway illegally. – Especially after summit tours have become more popular, I see more people crossing the track in the most unimaginable places. Then you have access to the entire mountain and can slide down all mountain sides. Then people often choose the easiest solution, he says. – It is a great strain for us to sit there. You look death in the eye as they say, says locomotive driver Vegard Mæland. Photo: Privat – Bortimot silently Some of the trains can come at a speed of between 90 and 130 kilometers per hour. On the high mountain section of the Bergen Railway in winter, there is both snow, high plow edges, tunnels and superstructures. The locomotive driver points out that the snow muffles the sound from the train and says that it is virtually silent when it runs in snowy surroundings. – When the weather is bad, it is difficult to spot people in or near the track, says Mæland. He encourages everyone to find a legal place to cross, and to use their eyes, ears and head. – It’s not in such a mad hurry to get over that railway crossing. It may be the last thing you do, he adds. Trond Augestad stood in the extreme weather filming at Finse in 2016. Suddenly the train was there. Without a sound. – Not having the opportunity to turn away from Pål Buset in Bane Nor says it is very dangerous to cross the railway tracks illegally. – There have been cases where skiers have almost never gotten out of the track and had their sledge hooked, for example. Then it was just luck that there was packing in that sled and nothing else, says Buset. He says that on Bergensbanen there are around a dozen such incidents that are reported each year, but that these are probably large dark figures. – We depend on someone who works with railway maintenance, or those sitting on the train, actually seeing something and reporting it, he adds. The bus points out that it can take up to a kilometer before the train stops. The trains can come at an enormous speed and the locomotive drivers have no opportunity to turn away. Photo: Jernbaneverket Lack of knowledge Buset says that particularly in Finse there are reports of people crossing the railway track, or skiing in the track. – I don’t think that people are stupid or that they themselves think that they are taking an unnecessary risk. I think there is a lack of knowledge that it is actually dangerous to cross even if it looks safe and forgivable, emphasizes Buset. He clarifies that it is not just the trains in the timetables that you should watch out for. There are also freight trains and work trains that will carry out maintenance. – In short, it is illegal, but primarily dangerous to cross, except over level crossings, crossings or underpasses, warns Buset.
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Easter tourists cross the railway track illegally on the Bergen Railway – news Vestland
