NSB Class 73
Encyclopedia
NSB Class 73 is a class of 22 electric multiple unit
s built by Adtranz
for the Norwegian State Railways. The four-car trains were modifications of Class 71, which was again based on the Swedish X2. The A-series consists of 16 intercity trains; they were delivered in 1999 and 2000 and are used on the Bergen, Dovre and Sørland Lines. The intercity service was branded as Signatur until 2003. The B-series consists of six regional trains delivered in 2002 and used on the Østfold Line. The regional trains were originally part of the Agenda
concept. The trains have a power output of 2646 kW and a maximum speed of 210 km/h (130.5 mph). They have an overall length of 108 metres (354.3 ft) and have a capacity for 208 seated passengers in the A-series and 250 in the B-series. The trains have tilting mechanism
allowing for faster travel through curves.
The trains were delivered late, and were put into service after the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
had given dispensation from parts of the safety regulation. On 17 June 2000, a train derailed
at Nelaug Station
after an axle broke. The class was grounded for a month, and the investigation showed both design errors, and lack of proper inspection and testing. After they were put back into service, they were not allowed to use the tilting mechanism—thus not being allowed to run faster than their predecessors. The construction was reinforced, and in 2004, the tilting mechanism was reenabled. In 2007, a train derailed on the Bergen Line, and questions were raised about the trains' ability to operate in snow. NSB has announced that they will withdraw the train from the Bergen Line service. On 16 June 2011, two units were destroyed when the train ran into a fire in a snow tunnel at Hallingskeid Station.
Class 73 is a four-car electric multiple unit built by Adtranz. Each train consists of eight bogie
s—of which three are powered—with a total power output of 2646 kW. The trains have active tilting, which allows speeds 20 to 30 percent higher than conventional trains through curves on conventional lines. Maximum permitted speed is 210 km/h (130.5 mph). A four-car train is 108.48 metres (355.9 ft) long; an A-series weighs 215.1 tonnes (211.7 LT) while a B-series unit weighs 216.1 tonnes (212.7 LT). The trains have a steel body and the entire cabin is pressurized. Rail brakes are installed on all carrying bogies.
The A-series has a capacity of 207 seated passengers, while the B-series has room for 250. The difference is caused by the B-series having a smaller bistro and more compact seating. In the A-series, each of the four cars has seating in a different color (blue in BFM73 car, green in BMU73, red in BFR73, and yellow leather in BM73 and in the bistro area in BFR73). Originally, three of the cars had floors with carpet, while the fourth car (BFM73) had vinyl, of consideration to people with allergies. The carpets were removed in about 2005 as it was difficult to keep them clean. Seating is in two classes, standard and Komfort (originally "Plus"); the latter (BM73 car) with leather seating and power supply for laptops. All the cars have cherry tree wood interior. The trains are equipped with a dining section
(BFR73 car) and warm meals can be served at the seat or in the diner. The menu is according to the time of day, with breakfasts in the morning and larger meals in the afternoon and evening. The trains also feature a family section with a play area and HC
area (BFM73 car). The BFM73 car has also a bicycle room behind the driver's cab. From 2011, the trains are equipped with free wireless Internet.
. The reports concluded that there would have to be invested 56 billion Norwegian krone
(NOK) in new infrastructure if the main corridors were to be built as high-speed railways. Instead, the use of tilting technology was proposed to allow higher speeds on existing lines. In 1992, the Parliament of Norway voted to build Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
and connect it to the capital with the high-speed Gardermoen Line. It was decided that the service should take 19 minutes—and not one minute more. When issuing invitations to tenders, NSB specified this time limit as a criteria, which was also the reason the line was dimensioned for 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph).
Proposals had been made for NSB to purchase the same units as the Swedish State Railways (SJ), the X2, in a Nordic cooperation to use the same trains in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, but the idea was abandoned. In 1994, NSB launched planns to build 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) of high-speed railways by 2011, but also these plans were shelved. In May 1995, Osmund Ueland
was hired as director-general of NSB, and he scrapped all plans to build new railways, and instead decided to focus on tilting technology.
Class 71 and 73 are based on the Swedish X2, built by Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) for the Swedish State Railways, and introduced in 1990. Forty-three units were delivered by 1997; they each considered of a locomotive
and two to five unpowered carriages, including a driving trailer. The locomotives had a power output of 3260 kW and a top speed of 200 km/h (124.3 mph). Compared to X2, Class 73 has an upgraded bogie construction and motors in multiple cars instead of having a locomotive unit. The latter forces a four-car configuration, but allows for better traction and better use of space and weight by placing the technical equipment throughout all four cars.
In 1993, NSB test-ran an X2 train on the Randsfjord Line, and between 29 September and 21 December 1996, ran a unit in regular service on the Sørland Line. On 23 February 1995, NSB signed a contract to purchase 16 Class 71 trains for use on the Airport Express Train
on the Gardermoen Line. The contract included two options
, one for 16 trains for intercity traffic and one for 6 trains for regional traffic. The reason for using the same type of train as the Airport Express Train, was to reduce maintenance and operation costs through having a unified fleet. The options would only modify the trains slightly; they were primarily designed for the airport service and any optimization for intercity and tilting technology was secondary in the design process. The first option was taken out on 5 March 1997.
The differences between Class 71 and 73 is that the latter has a different interior, four instead of three cars, different door design, the removal of one set of doors per car and the addition of tilting. At the time of ordering, it was announced that the trains would enter service on the Sørland Line during the summer of 1999, the Dovre Line during the fall of 1999, and the Bergen Line during the fall of 2000. Class 71 was delivered in 1997 and 1998; one of the units was delivered with tilting technology to test it out—and subsequently removed. The first batch of trains cost NOK 1.6 billion.
In April 1999, NSB launched a new branding scheme for their trains. In addition to Puls for local trains and Agenda
for regional trains, the Signatur ("Signature") concept was introduced for intercity trains. Signatur would only be used on the Class 73 services, and consist of two classes, Comfort and Comfort Plus. NSB abolished its branding of only having red trains, and introduced a blue and silver livery on the Class 73 trains. The new service had fewer stops and faster travel times. To take advantage of the faster speeds, the Norwegian National Rail Administration needed to do upgrades to the track, overhead wires and signaling
for NOK 1.2 billion.
Tickets on the Signatur service cost NOK 25 more than with conventional trains, which would continue to run. Tickets were also made available via Amadeus
, a ticket reservation system in Norway previously only used for airlines. Prices became differentiated
, with prices between Oslo
and Kristiansand
varying between NOK 250 and 780, depending on time of travel and class. NSB stated that they hoped to compete with airlines between the two cities, as travel from from city center to center was about the same as by plane.
. The inspectorate had a series of safety concerns, including follow-up on the safety terms for the wheels and axles; lack of documentation of the crew's training; denying NSB's request to have fewer inspections and less maintenance on the trains; lack of consideration of critical events deemed to have a high probability to occur but have a low consequence; lack of a safety inspector for operations and maintenance; and that the trains were so heavy that they would exceed the permitted axle load
of the lines. Det Norske Veritas
(DNV) warned against a possible weakness in the axles. NSB wanted to use an expert from Deutsche Bahn
to perform the necessary tests, but limited availability of the expert resulted in the Norwegian National Rail Administration granting a half-year delay of the inspections.
On 28 October 1999, Minister of Transport
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll
asked the directors of the three involved parties, Osmund Ueland
of NSB, Sverre Quale
of the inspectorate and Steinar Killi
of the National Rail Administration, to meet at his office the following day if the issue was not resolved. The following day, the inspectorate gave permission for the trains to taken into use, despite noting a series of non-conformities with safety regulations: the inspectorate lacked a list of the train's deviations from the safety regulations; lack of a system to automatically monitor the speed of the trains, particularly when automatic train stop
was disconnected; lack of safety training for the crew; lack of an evacuation analysis; and lack of control of the marking of safety equipment. Most of the deviations were to be followed up within two weeks. Quale stated that the deviated issues were of a nature which had not previously been applied to trains and that it was therefore not critical.
The firs train was delivered on 22 October and was taken into use on the Sørland Line from 1 November. Scheduled travel time was reduced by 40 minutes to 3 hours and 40 minutes. In December, the trains had problems with the pantographs
not working correctly in cold weather, causing the trains to lose their power and be several hours delayed. NSB stated that a contributing cause was the previous year's mild winter, which made it impossible to test the trains in extreme weather. After two and a half months of operation on the Sørland Line, every other train was at least 5 minutes late and every tenth train at least 20 minutes late. The trains also caused travel sickness, also among employees, particularly on the section from Kristiansand to Bø
. NSB stated that this had also occurred on the old trains and that it was reports of the number of people affected were exaggerated.
On 16 December 1999, NSB confirmed the option for another six Class 73 trains, costing NOK 680 million, for use on the Østfold Line. On 7 January 2000, the trains were put into service on the Dovre Line between Oslo and Trondheim
, and on the Sørland Line between Kristiansand and Stavanger
. The travel time from Trondheim to Oslo was 5 hours and 46 minutes. In an independent marketing survey, Signatur customers were more satisfied
than the customers for the two main airlines, Braathens
and Scandinavian Airlines, but the train service had a lower reputation
than the airlines. By May, the number of passengers on the Sørland Line had fallen with 10 percent. The reason was the limited capacity during the weekends; while NSB had previously run trains with 400 to 500 seats, Class 73 had considerably less capacity. Additional services were introduced on the Dovre Line from 11 June 2000, while the introduction on the Bergen Line was delayed because the infrastructure upgrades on the Bergen Line were not yet completed.
at Nelaug Station
on the Sørland Line. The train was traveling at slow speed and no-one was injured, but had the derailment happened at full speed, it could have been fatal. The derailment was caused by a fatigue failure
in the front axle
of the train. All Class 71 and 73 trains were immediately grounded, and were investigated by maintenance crews. The derailed train had recently had its axle checked for fatigue, but no cracks had been found. On 19 June, NSB stated that they had made insufficient tests during the 100000 kilometres (62,137.3 mi) controls. Class 71 had been through ultrasonic testing and were therefore allowed to resume operation the day after the accident. A DNV report from late August concluded with that the cracks had been caused by rust, which was again caused by water being sealed in by the corrosion-protective layer.
On 23 June, Quale stated that the inspectorate should never have approved the trains. He stated that the Sørland Line was extreme in Europe in the number of curves, and that this gave increased stress on the axles. The tests which were used to approve the trains had been done on the Dovre Line and with a Class 71 set equipped with tilting technology, a class which weighs less than Class 73. He further stated that NSB had controlled only part of the axle and that if proper tests had been made, the fatigue would have been discovered. NSB stated that they had tested the trains on a section of the Dovre Line they considered to be more curvy than the most curvy parts of the Sørland Line. There was also a misunderstanding in the approval, as NSB had said to DNV that the tests on the Dovre Line were not to be considered representative for the Sørland Line, while the inspectorate had the impression that DNV had approved the tests also for the Sørland Line. NSB stated that all tests would be done again before the trains were put back into service.
NSB stated that they would demand a discount from Adtranz. Following the incident, the trains would have to be in for control every 100000 kilometres (62,137.3 mi), rather than every 1200000 kilometres (745,647.3 mi). With each control costing NOK 50,000, NSB stated that this represented an extra cost of NOK 20 million per year. The contract between Adtranz and NSB states how often trains are to be maintained, and Adtranz holds a financial responsibility if the trains systematically need more maintenance than that. By 24 June, cracks had been found in two additional units. Similar cracks had occurred in the X2 trains, but after many years of operations. The same manufacturer had been used for the axles on both trains. In Sweden impurities in the steel, combined with underdimentioning of the axles, were thought to be a cause, but replacements had caused the same issues. On 26 June, NSB stated that they in April had discovered that not checking the whole axle was a weakness in the control procedures, but that despite this, no new controls had been done. The reason this was ignored, was that there was nothing that indicated that this part of the axle represented a weak point.
Ueland was unanimously fired as CEO by NSB's board on 29 June. Immediately afterwards his deputy Randi Flesland
resigned, after she had rejected the board's proposal for her to become acting CEO. The same day, Adtranz assumed full responsibility for the defects, and guaranteed that they would cover NSB's costs. In a report, Adtranz stated that the axles should be controlled every 6000 kilometres (3,728.2 mi), which would mean weekly inspections. They stated that they hoped further inquiries would find a way to have less frequent inspections. This was rejected by NSB, who would not have sufficient trains to run the schedules with such a tight inspection scheme. Instead, Adtranz and NSB agreed to a new program which would involve inspection every three weeks.
The trains were put back into service on 13 July. The trains were only allowed to operate at conventional speeds and had to go through a weekly inspection. At the same time, NSB removed the surcharge on the Signatur services. NSB stated that they were considering revocation the purchase of the four trains which were still to be delivered. In addition to problems with axles, there were also issues with the braking and air conditioning
systems. In mid-August, the tilting mechanism was disabled on all the trains because of a fault in a bearing
in the lodge between the bogie and the body which allowed for a movement of several millimetres (at least 0.1 in). In late August, there occurred errors with the braking system causing the trains to automatically brake even when not receiving such signals from the automatic train stop system.
The cause of the cracks was a rubber washer which had been installed on the first eight trains—rather than the conventional plastic cover—which was intended to protect the axles from ice and stones. Adtranz had delivered thousands of trains with the conventional method without cracks, but the washers trapped water and this caused them to corrode and crack. Adtranz had applied a coat of paint as the sole means to avoid corrosion to the axle. The DNV inspector had "hardly believed his ears" when he heard about it. In addition, the axles were underdimentioned, and DNV stated that it was only under doubt that they considered it safe to operate the trains at conventional speeds, and that all the axles would have to be replaced. On 30 August, NSB gave Adtranz two weeks to solve the axle issues unless the contract was to be revoked.
In mid-September, the press announced that NSB had on 8 May 1996 agreed that Class 71's axles could receive a steel quality substandard to European standard and recommendation from the International Union of Railways
. The reason was that the class would have a much higher weight than planned, and that this would cause the trains to operate slower and thus not be able to reach the airport in the desired 19 minutes. Class 73 inherited the same axle quality from the Class 71 order. On 11 September, Adtranz accepted responsibility for the axle problems, and stated that they would replace all axles free of charge, an operation which would cost them NOK 70 million. In October, Adtranz announced that they would also replace all the wheels on both classes. NSB was spending NOK 1.5 million on brake discs
and brake shoe
s per month. The parties continued to disagree on the size of compensation Adtranz should give NSB, with NOK 100 million separating the two. In July, NSB replaced DNV with CorrOcean
as their inspection supplier for the class. NSB stated that this halved the cost of the inspections. The same month, Bombardier Transportation
, who by then had taken over Adtranz, stated that they were going to replace the bogie frames for all the Class 71 and 73, as well as Class 93 trains, as part of the compensation deal with NSB.
The first of the B-series trains were delivered for trial runs on 7 March 2001. In May, NSB stated that they would never be able to operate the trains with the speeds they had previously stated they could, and that at least for the next year, the tilting trains would operate at the same speeds as conventional trains. On 17 September 2001, the trains were put into service on the Bergen Line between Oslo and Bergen. During the following winter, the trains had problems running through snowdrift
unless they held a sufficiently high speed. Because part of the Bergen Line had frost heave, trains were forced to drive extra slow, causing trains to get stuck. NSB stated that test had shown that Class 73 had better abilities at this than El 16
, which had previously been the main locomotive on the line, although Class 73 did not do as well as the modern El 18
. In January 2002, NSB started rebuilding the A-series trains to have a larger baggage compartment. This was largely because of insufficient space for passengers to take skis with them.
The B-series was originally put into serve on the Sørland Line between Kristiansand and Stavanger, as part of the brand Agenda. The B-series had been planned used on the Østfold Line, but a because the latter is largely a commuter service with many standing passengers, the company was not comfortable using the trains there until the issues regarding the axles and wheels had been resolved. NSB also stated that they were dissatisfied with that the A-series and B-series could not be used interchangeably. The B-series' lack of a manned dining car meant that they could not be used on intercity trains, while the A-series' smaller seating capacity meant it could not be used on regional trains. The B-series was put into service on the Østfold Line on 6 January 2003. NSB stated that the new class would offer better comfort and reduce the railway's problems with delays caused by icing. On the Østfold Line, the maximum speed is 160 km/h (99.4 mph). From June 2003, NSB discontinued the brands Agenda and Signatur. The same year, NSB adjusted the travel times so that the trains look as long time as the conventional trains, and that they would use one minute more than in 1982. Starting on 15 December, three of the services on the Østfold Line were extended to Gothenburg
in Sweden.
On 21 February 2007, a Class 73 derailed after hitting an avalanche
between Hallingskeid
and Myrdal
on the Bergen Line. The accident raised questions about the class's abilities to handle hard snow, such as in avalanches. In particular, a DNV report from 1999 had shown that the train could act as a sled, lose contact with the tracks and slide on top of the snow. A former NSB employee who worked with route planning, stated that a locomotive-hauled train would be better suitable for such situations, because more of the weight is located at the front of the train, and it will therefore plow instead of slide. The National Rail Administration said that they took extra precautions for the Class 73 trains and that they during snowfall would run a snow-removal unit ahead of all Class 73 runs. NSB stated that they would consider the possibility of reverting back to conventional trains, but that unless new information could shed light on the situation, they would retain use of the Class 73 trains.
NSB ensured that the trains were more capable than their reputation, and that they would be continued to be used on the Bergen Line. If an alternative was needed, NSB stated that they would have to use El 18 locomotives in combination with B5
carriages. However, the carriages were at the time being used on regional rush-hour trains around Oslo, were in need of renovation and did not offer the facilities required by intercity travelers. In October, NSB stated that they planned to withdraw Class 73 from service on the Bergen Line, because the use of multiple units was not flexible enough. With locomotive-hauled trains, it was possible for the company to add or remove just a single carriage, but with multiple units, it was necessary to double the capacity if a single unit was insufficient. While originally planned to be introduced in 2008, delays in the upgrades has caused the delivery of the upgraded carriages past 2010.
On 16 June 2011, a fire started in the snow tunnel at Hallingskeid Station on the Bergen Line. As the station is unmanned, there was no prior warning of the fire until the driver saw it from the cab just as the train entered the tunnel. More the less simultaneously, the train reached the point of the line were the fire had caused the power to cut. The driver immediately applied the emergency brake
, which allowed the train to stop 5 metre from the fire. Because the train had no power, it was not possible to reverse out. The 257 passengers were then immediately evacuated. All personnel acted according to regulations and no-one was injured in the accident. According to the driver, had he not lost the power, he would have continued through the tunnel, as the fire was just at a beginning stage. The train, which consisted of two Class 73 units, no. 10 and 13, eventually caught fire and was damaged beyond repair.
Notes
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s built by Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
for the Norwegian State Railways. The four-car trains were modifications of Class 71, which was again based on the Swedish X2. The A-series consists of 16 intercity trains; they were delivered in 1999 and 2000 and are used on the Bergen, Dovre and Sørland Lines. The intercity service was branded as Signatur until 2003. The B-series consists of six regional trains delivered in 2002 and used on the Østfold Line. The regional trains were originally part of the Agenda
NSB Agenda
NSB Agenda was a brand name created by Norges Statsbaner for their regional train service, and used on the services in Eastern, Central and Northern Norway...
concept. The trains have a power output of 2646 kW and a maximum speed of 210 km/h (130.5 mph). They have an overall length of 108 metres (354.3 ft) and have a capacity for 208 seated passengers in the A-series and 250 in the B-series. The trains have tilting mechanism
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
allowing for faster travel through curves.
The trains were delivered late, and were put into service after the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
The Norwegian Railway Inspectorate is a Norwegian government agency responsible for control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways and side tracks....
had given dispensation from parts of the safety regulation. On 17 June 2000, a train derailed
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
at Nelaug Station
Nelaug Station
Nelaug Station is a railway station located at Nelaug in Åmli, Norway, north of the Nelaug Lake. The station functions as a meeting station of Sørland Line and Arendal Line, that latter which the station functions as terminal station for...
after an axle broke. The class was grounded for a month, and the investigation showed both design errors, and lack of proper inspection and testing. After they were put back into service, they were not allowed to use the tilting mechanism—thus not being allowed to run faster than their predecessors. The construction was reinforced, and in 2004, the tilting mechanism was reenabled. In 2007, a train derailed on the Bergen Line, and questions were raised about the trains' ability to operate in snow. NSB has announced that they will withdraw the train from the Bergen Line service. On 16 June 2011, two units were destroyed when the train ran into a fire in a snow tunnel at Hallingskeid Station.
Specifications
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s—of which three are powered—with a total power output of 2646 kW. The trains have active tilting, which allows speeds 20 to 30 percent higher than conventional trains through curves on conventional lines. Maximum permitted speed is 210 km/h (130.5 mph). A four-car train is 108.48 metres (355.9 ft) long; an A-series weighs 215.1 tonnes (211.7 LT) while a B-series unit weighs 216.1 tonnes (212.7 LT). The trains have a steel body and the entire cabin is pressurized. Rail brakes are installed on all carrying bogies.
The A-series has a capacity of 207 seated passengers, while the B-series has room for 250. The difference is caused by the B-series having a smaller bistro and more compact seating. In the A-series, each of the four cars has seating in a different color (blue in BFM73 car, green in BMU73, red in BFR73, and yellow leather in BM73 and in the bistro area in BFR73). Originally, three of the cars had floors with carpet, while the fourth car (BFM73) had vinyl, of consideration to people with allergies. The carpets were removed in about 2005 as it was difficult to keep them clean. Seating is in two classes, standard and Komfort (originally "Plus"); the latter (BM73 car) with leather seating and power supply for laptops. All the cars have cherry tree wood interior. The trains are equipped with a dining section
Dining car
A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....
(BFR73 car) and warm meals can be served at the seat or in the diner. The menu is according to the time of day, with breakfasts in the morning and larger meals in the afternoon and evening. The trains also feature a family section with a play area and HC
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
area (BFM73 car). The BFM73 car has also a bicycle room behind the driver's cab. From 2011, the trains are equipped with free wireless Internet.
History
Background
In 1990 and 1994, NSB published two reports regarding the future of intercity rail transport in NorwayRail transport in Norway
The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,087 km of track of which 2,622 km is electrified and 242 km double track. There are 696 tunnels and 2760 bridges....
. The reports concluded that there would have to be invested 56 billion Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
(NOK) in new infrastructure if the main corridors were to be built as high-speed railways. Instead, the use of tilting technology was proposed to allow higher speeds on existing lines. In 1992, the Parliament of Norway voted to build Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen is the principal airport serving Oslo, Norway. It acts as the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and a focus city for Widerøe, it is...
and connect it to the capital with the high-speed Gardermoen Line. It was decided that the service should take 19 minutes—and not one minute more. When issuing invitations to tenders, NSB specified this time limit as a criteria, which was also the reason the line was dimensioned for 210 kilometres per hour (130.5 mph).
Proposals had been made for NSB to purchase the same units as the Swedish State Railways (SJ), the X2, in a Nordic cooperation to use the same trains in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, but the idea was abandoned. In 1994, NSB launched planns to build 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) of high-speed railways by 2011, but also these plans were shelved. In May 1995, Osmund Ueland
Osmund Ueland
Osmund Ueland is a Norwegian civil servant and former CEO of Norges Statsbaner .An engineer by education, he worked for Aker from 1975 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994 he headed the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee . In 1994 he was hired as CEO for NSB Gardermobanen; the next year he was...
was hired as director-general of NSB, and he scrapped all plans to build new railways, and instead decided to focus on tilting technology.
Class 71 and 73 are based on the Swedish X2, built by Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) for the Swedish State Railways, and introduced in 1990. Forty-three units were delivered by 1997; they each considered of a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
and two to five unpowered carriages, including a driving trailer. The locomotives had a power output of 3260 kW and a top speed of 200 km/h (124.3 mph). Compared to X2, Class 73 has an upgraded bogie construction and motors in multiple cars instead of having a locomotive unit. The latter forces a four-car configuration, but allows for better traction and better use of space and weight by placing the technical equipment throughout all four cars.
In 1993, NSB test-ran an X2 train on the Randsfjord Line, and between 29 September and 21 December 1996, ran a unit in regular service on the Sørland Line. On 23 February 1995, NSB signed a contract to purchase 16 Class 71 trains for use on the Airport Express Train
Flytoget
is a Norwegian high-speed airport rail link connecting Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to Oslo Central Station in nineteen minutes. Run by Flytoget AS , it operates on the high-speed Gardermoen Line using sixteen GMB Class 71 electric trains. Normal service frequency is once every ten minutes, with half...
on the Gardermoen Line. The contract included two options
Option contract
An option contract is defined as "a promise which meets the requirements for the formation of a contract and limits the promisor's power to revoke an offer." Restatement of Contracts § 25 ....
, one for 16 trains for intercity traffic and one for 6 trains for regional traffic. The reason for using the same type of train as the Airport Express Train, was to reduce maintenance and operation costs through having a unified fleet. The options would only modify the trains slightly; they were primarily designed for the airport service and any optimization for intercity and tilting technology was secondary in the design process. The first option was taken out on 5 March 1997.
The differences between Class 71 and 73 is that the latter has a different interior, four instead of three cars, different door design, the removal of one set of doors per car and the addition of tilting. At the time of ordering, it was announced that the trains would enter service on the Sørland Line during the summer of 1999, the Dovre Line during the fall of 1999, and the Bergen Line during the fall of 2000. Class 71 was delivered in 1997 and 1998; one of the units was delivered with tilting technology to test it out—and subsequently removed. The first batch of trains cost NOK 1.6 billion.
In April 1999, NSB launched a new branding scheme for their trains. In addition to Puls for local trains and Agenda
NSB Agenda
NSB Agenda was a brand name created by Norges Statsbaner for their regional train service, and used on the services in Eastern, Central and Northern Norway...
for regional trains, the Signatur ("Signature") concept was introduced for intercity trains. Signatur would only be used on the Class 73 services, and consist of two classes, Comfort and Comfort Plus. NSB abolished its branding of only having red trains, and introduced a blue and silver livery on the Class 73 trains. The new service had fewer stops and faster travel times. To take advantage of the faster speeds, the Norwegian National Rail Administration needed to do upgrades to the track, overhead wires and signaling
Railway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
for NOK 1.2 billion.
Tickets on the Signatur service cost NOK 25 more than with conventional trains, which would continue to run. Tickets were also made available via Amadeus
Amadeus CRS
Amadeus is a computer reservations system owned by the Amadeus IT Group with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. The central database is located at Erding, Germany. The development center is located at Sophia Antipolis, France...
, a ticket reservation system in Norway previously only used for airlines. Prices became differentiated
Product differentiation
In economics and marketing, product differentiation is the process of distinguishing a product or offering from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as well as a firm's own product offerings...
, with prices between Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
varying between NOK 250 and 780, depending on time of travel and class. NSB stated that they hoped to compete with airlines between the two cities, as travel from from city center to center was about the same as by plane.
Entry into service
Three days before scheduled services were to start, permission to use the trains had still not been granted by the Norwegian Railway InspectorateNorwegian Railway Inspectorate
The Norwegian Railway Inspectorate is a Norwegian government agency responsible for control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways and side tracks....
. The inspectorate had a series of safety concerns, including follow-up on the safety terms for the wheels and axles; lack of documentation of the crew's training; denying NSB's request to have fewer inspections and less maintenance on the trains; lack of consideration of critical events deemed to have a high probability to occur but have a low consequence; lack of a safety inspector for operations and maintenance; and that the trains were so heavy that they would exceed the permitted axle load
Axle load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Viewed another way, it is the fraction of total vehicle weight resting on a given axle...
of the lines. Det Norske Veritas
Det Norske Veritas
Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas is a classification society organized as a foundation, with the objective of "Safeguarding life, property, and the environment". The organization's history goes back to 1864, when the foundation was established in Norway to inspect and evaluate the technical condition...
(DNV) warned against a possible weakness in the axles. NSB wanted to use an expert from Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
to perform the necessary tests, but limited availability of the expert resulted in the Norwegian National Rail Administration granting a half-year delay of the inspections.
On 28 October 1999, Minister of Transport
Minister of Transport and Communications (Norway)
The Minister of Transport and Communications is a Councillor of State and Chief of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. Since 20 October 2009, the position has been held by Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa of the Centre Party...
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll
Dag Jostein Fjærvoll is a Norwegian politician for the Christian People's Party. He was Minister of Defence 1997-1999, and Minister of Transport and Communications 1999-2000 for the Christian People's Party....
asked the directors of the three involved parties, Osmund Ueland
Osmund Ueland
Osmund Ueland is a Norwegian civil servant and former CEO of Norges Statsbaner .An engineer by education, he worked for Aker from 1975 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994 he headed the Lillehammer Olympic Organising Committee . In 1994 he was hired as CEO for NSB Gardermobanen; the next year he was...
of NSB, Sverre Quale
Sverre Quale
Sverre Quale is a Norwegian civil servant and businessperson.He grew up in Mo i Rana and currently lives in Billingstad. He is a siv. ing. by education, graduating from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1982....
of the inspectorate and Steinar Killi
Steinar Killi
Steinar Killi is a Norwegian civil servant who has had various leading positions within transportation in government agencies and is presently director of the Norwegian National Rail Administration....
of the National Rail Administration, to meet at his office the following day if the issue was not resolved. The following day, the inspectorate gave permission for the trains to taken into use, despite noting a series of non-conformities with safety regulations: the inspectorate lacked a list of the train's deviations from the safety regulations; lack of a system to automatically monitor the speed of the trains, particularly when automatic train stop
Automatic Train Stop
An automatic train stop is a system on a train that will automatically stop a train if certain situations happened to prevent accidents from happening....
was disconnected; lack of safety training for the crew; lack of an evacuation analysis; and lack of control of the marking of safety equipment. Most of the deviations were to be followed up within two weeks. Quale stated that the deviated issues were of a nature which had not previously been applied to trains and that it was therefore not critical.
The firs train was delivered on 22 October and was taken into use on the Sørland Line from 1 November. Scheduled travel time was reduced by 40 minutes to 3 hours and 40 minutes. In December, the trains had problems with the pantographs
Pantograph (rail)
A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...
not working correctly in cold weather, causing the trains to lose their power and be several hours delayed. NSB stated that a contributing cause was the previous year's mild winter, which made it impossible to test the trains in extreme weather. After two and a half months of operation on the Sørland Line, every other train was at least 5 minutes late and every tenth train at least 20 minutes late. The trains also caused travel sickness, also among employees, particularly on the section from Kristiansand to Bø
Bø, Telemark
Bø is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Midt-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bø i Telemark. The municipality of Bø was established on 1 January 1838...
. NSB stated that this had also occurred on the old trains and that it was reports of the number of people affected were exaggerated.
On 16 December 1999, NSB confirmed the option for another six Class 73 trains, costing NOK 680 million, for use on the Østfold Line. On 7 January 2000, the trains were put into service on the Dovre Line between Oslo and Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, and on the Sørland Line between Kristiansand and Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
. The travel time from Trondheim to Oslo was 5 hours and 46 minutes. In an independent marketing survey, Signatur customers were more satisfied
Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction, a term frequently used in marketing, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation...
than the customers for the two main airlines, Braathens
Braathens
Braathens ASA, until 1997 Braathens South American & Far East Airtransport A/S and trading as Braathens SAFE, is a former Norwegian airline that operated from 1946 until it merged with Scandinavian Airlines Norway to become SAS Braathens in 2004. The airline was based in Oslo, first at Fornebu,...
and Scandinavian Airlines, but the train service had a lower reputation
Reputation
Reputation of a social entity is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria...
than the airlines. By May, the number of passengers on the Sørland Line had fallen with 10 percent. The reason was the limited capacity during the weekends; while NSB had previously run trains with 400 to 500 seats, Class 73 had considerably less capacity. Additional services were introduced on the Dovre Line from 11 June 2000, while the introduction on the Bergen Line was delayed because the infrastructure upgrades on the Bergen Line were not yet completed.
Axle faults
On 17 June 2000, a Class 73 train derailedDerailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
at Nelaug Station
Nelaug Station
Nelaug Station is a railway station located at Nelaug in Åmli, Norway, north of the Nelaug Lake. The station functions as a meeting station of Sørland Line and Arendal Line, that latter which the station functions as terminal station for...
on the Sørland Line. The train was traveling at slow speed and no-one was injured, but had the derailment happened at full speed, it could have been fatal. The derailment was caused by a fatigue failure
Fatigue (material)
'In materials science, fatigue is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal maximum stress values are less than the ultimate tensile stress limit, and may be below the yield stress limit of the material.Fatigue occurs...
in the front axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
of the train. All Class 71 and 73 trains were immediately grounded, and were investigated by maintenance crews. The derailed train had recently had its axle checked for fatigue, but no cracks had been found. On 19 June, NSB stated that they had made insufficient tests during the 100000 kilometres (62,137.3 mi) controls. Class 71 had been through ultrasonic testing and were therefore allowed to resume operation the day after the accident. A DNV report from late August concluded with that the cracks had been caused by rust, which was again caused by water being sealed in by the corrosion-protective layer.
On 23 June, Quale stated that the inspectorate should never have approved the trains. He stated that the Sørland Line was extreme in Europe in the number of curves, and that this gave increased stress on the axles. The tests which were used to approve the trains had been done on the Dovre Line and with a Class 71 set equipped with tilting technology, a class which weighs less than Class 73. He further stated that NSB had controlled only part of the axle and that if proper tests had been made, the fatigue would have been discovered. NSB stated that they had tested the trains on a section of the Dovre Line they considered to be more curvy than the most curvy parts of the Sørland Line. There was also a misunderstanding in the approval, as NSB had said to DNV that the tests on the Dovre Line were not to be considered representative for the Sørland Line, while the inspectorate had the impression that DNV had approved the tests also for the Sørland Line. NSB stated that all tests would be done again before the trains were put back into service.
NSB stated that they would demand a discount from Adtranz. Following the incident, the trains would have to be in for control every 100000 kilometres (62,137.3 mi), rather than every 1200000 kilometres (745,647.3 mi). With each control costing NOK 50,000, NSB stated that this represented an extra cost of NOK 20 million per year. The contract between Adtranz and NSB states how often trains are to be maintained, and Adtranz holds a financial responsibility if the trains systematically need more maintenance than that. By 24 June, cracks had been found in two additional units. Similar cracks had occurred in the X2 trains, but after many years of operations. The same manufacturer had been used for the axles on both trains. In Sweden impurities in the steel, combined with underdimentioning of the axles, were thought to be a cause, but replacements had caused the same issues. On 26 June, NSB stated that they in April had discovered that not checking the whole axle was a weakness in the control procedures, but that despite this, no new controls had been done. The reason this was ignored, was that there was nothing that indicated that this part of the axle represented a weak point.
Ueland was unanimously fired as CEO by NSB's board on 29 June. Immediately afterwards his deputy Randi Flesland
Randi Flesland
Randi Runa Svenkerud Flesland is a Norwegian civil servant.Flesland was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, with education in business administration, psychology and pedagogy. She has had several leading positions in Norges Statsbaner, until 2000, when she became acting president...
resigned, after she had rejected the board's proposal for her to become acting CEO. The same day, Adtranz assumed full responsibility for the defects, and guaranteed that they would cover NSB's costs. In a report, Adtranz stated that the axles should be controlled every 6000 kilometres (3,728.2 mi), which would mean weekly inspections. They stated that they hoped further inquiries would find a way to have less frequent inspections. This was rejected by NSB, who would not have sufficient trains to run the schedules with such a tight inspection scheme. Instead, Adtranz and NSB agreed to a new program which would involve inspection every three weeks.
The trains were put back into service on 13 July. The trains were only allowed to operate at conventional speeds and had to go through a weekly inspection. At the same time, NSB removed the surcharge on the Signatur services. NSB stated that they were considering revocation the purchase of the four trains which were still to be delivered. In addition to problems with axles, there were also issues with the braking and air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
systems. In mid-August, the tilting mechanism was disabled on all the trains because of a fault in a bearing
Bearing (mechanical)
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...
in the lodge between the bogie and the body which allowed for a movement of several millimetres (at least 0.1 in). In late August, there occurred errors with the braking system causing the trains to automatically brake even when not receiving such signals from the automatic train stop system.
The cause of the cracks was a rubber washer which had been installed on the first eight trains—rather than the conventional plastic cover—which was intended to protect the axles from ice and stones. Adtranz had delivered thousands of trains with the conventional method without cracks, but the washers trapped water and this caused them to corrode and crack. Adtranz had applied a coat of paint as the sole means to avoid corrosion to the axle. The DNV inspector had "hardly believed his ears" when he heard about it. In addition, the axles were underdimentioned, and DNV stated that it was only under doubt that they considered it safe to operate the trains at conventional speeds, and that all the axles would have to be replaced. On 30 August, NSB gave Adtranz two weeks to solve the axle issues unless the contract was to be revoked.
International Union of Railways
The UIC , or International Union of Railways, is an international rail transport industry body.- Brief history :The railways of Europe originated as separate concerns. There were many border changes after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Colonial railways were the responsibility of the...
. The reason was that the class would have a much higher weight than planned, and that this would cause the trains to operate slower and thus not be able to reach the airport in the desired 19 minutes. Class 73 inherited the same axle quality from the Class 71 order. On 11 September, Adtranz accepted responsibility for the axle problems, and stated that they would replace all axles free of charge, an operation which would cost them NOK 70 million. In October, Adtranz announced that they would also replace all the wheels on both classes. NSB was spending NOK 1.5 million on brake discs
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
and brake shoe
Brake shoe
A brake shoe is the part of a braking system which carries the brake lining in the drum brakes used on automobiles, or the brake block in train brakes and bicycle brakes.-Automobile drum brake:...
s per month. The parties continued to disagree on the size of compensation Adtranz should give NSB, with NOK 100 million separating the two. In July, NSB replaced DNV with CorrOcean
CorrOcean
CorrOcean was a corporation that produces monitoring technology systems related to conventional and subsea oil and gas wells and industrial process piping...
as their inspection supplier for the class. NSB stated that this halved the cost of the inspections. The same month, Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
, who by then had taken over Adtranz, stated that they were going to replace the bogie frames for all the Class 71 and 73, as well as Class 93 trains, as part of the compensation deal with NSB.
Bergen and Østfold
Snowdrift
A snowdrift is a deposit of snow sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm. Snowdrifts resemble sand dunes and are formed in a similar manner, namely, by wind moving light snow and depositing it when the wind is slowed, usually against a stationary object. Snow normally crests and slopes...
unless they held a sufficiently high speed. Because part of the Bergen Line had frost heave, trains were forced to drive extra slow, causing trains to get stuck. NSB stated that test had shown that Class 73 had better abilities at this than El 16
NSB El 16
NSB El 16 is an electric locomotive which is used on the Norwegian railway system by CargoNet to haul freight trains. Until it was replaced by the El 18, the El 16 engines also pulled passenger trains.-History:...
, which had previously been the main locomotive on the line, although Class 73 did not do as well as the modern El 18
NSB El 18
NSB El 18 is a class of 22 electric locomotives built by Adtranz and Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works for the Norwegian State Railways . The class is a modification of the Swiss Federal Railways Re 460 locomotive and built at Adtranz Strømmen in 1996 and 1997...
. In January 2002, NSB started rebuilding the A-series trains to have a larger baggage compartment. This was largely because of insufficient space for passengers to take skis with them.
The B-series was originally put into serve on the Sørland Line between Kristiansand and Stavanger, as part of the brand Agenda. The B-series had been planned used on the Østfold Line, but a because the latter is largely a commuter service with many standing passengers, the company was not comfortable using the trains there until the issues regarding the axles and wheels had been resolved. NSB also stated that they were dissatisfied with that the A-series and B-series could not be used interchangeably. The B-series' lack of a manned dining car meant that they could not be used on intercity trains, while the A-series' smaller seating capacity meant it could not be used on regional trains. The B-series was put into service on the Østfold Line on 6 January 2003. NSB stated that the new class would offer better comfort and reduce the railway's problems with delays caused by icing. On the Østfold Line, the maximum speed is 160 km/h (99.4 mph). From June 2003, NSB discontinued the brands Agenda and Signatur. The same year, NSB adjusted the travel times so that the trains look as long time as the conventional trains, and that they would use one minute more than in 1982. Starting on 15 December, three of the services on the Østfold Line were extended to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
in Sweden.
On 21 February 2007, a Class 73 derailed after hitting an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
between Hallingskeid
Hallingskeid
Hallingskeid Station is a railway station on the Bergen Line in Ulvik, Norway. Located at above mean sea level, the station is located within a snow tunnel. It opened along with the central section of the line on 10 June 1908 and remained manned until 1982. It is located on the Hardangervidda...
and Myrdal
Myrdal
Myrdal is a surname, and may refer to:* Alva Myrdal , Swedish diplomat, politician and writer* Gunnar Myrdal , Swedish economist and politician* Jan Myrdal , Swedish author, leftist-political writer and columnist...
on the Bergen Line. The accident raised questions about the class's abilities to handle hard snow, such as in avalanches. In particular, a DNV report from 1999 had shown that the train could act as a sled, lose contact with the tracks and slide on top of the snow. A former NSB employee who worked with route planning, stated that a locomotive-hauled train would be better suitable for such situations, because more of the weight is located at the front of the train, and it will therefore plow instead of slide. The National Rail Administration said that they took extra precautions for the Class 73 trains and that they during snowfall would run a snow-removal unit ahead of all Class 73 runs. NSB stated that they would consider the possibility of reverting back to conventional trains, but that unless new information could shed light on the situation, they would retain use of the Class 73 trains.
NSB ensured that the trains were more capable than their reputation, and that they would be continued to be used on the Bergen Line. If an alternative was needed, NSB stated that they would have to use El 18 locomotives in combination with B5
NSB B5
NSB Class 5 or B5 is a series of passenger carriages built by Strømmens Værksted for the Norwegian State Railways. Built between 1977 and 1981, they went through a major upgrade between 2008 and 2012. Sixty-three units were delivered. Each is long, wide, and tall. They weigh and have a maximum...
carriages. However, the carriages were at the time being used on regional rush-hour trains around Oslo, were in need of renovation and did not offer the facilities required by intercity travelers. In October, NSB stated that they planned to withdraw Class 73 from service on the Bergen Line, because the use of multiple units was not flexible enough. With locomotive-hauled trains, it was possible for the company to add or remove just a single carriage, but with multiple units, it was necessary to double the capacity if a single unit was insufficient. While originally planned to be introduced in 2008, delays in the upgrades has caused the delivery of the upgraded carriages past 2010.
On 16 June 2011, a fire started in the snow tunnel at Hallingskeid Station on the Bergen Line. As the station is unmanned, there was no prior warning of the fire until the driver saw it from the cab just as the train entered the tunnel. More the less simultaneously, the train reached the point of the line were the fire had caused the power to cut. The driver immediately applied the emergency brake
Emergency brake (train)
On trains, the expression emergency brake has several meanings:* The maximum brake force available to the driver/engineer from his conventional braking system, usually operated by taking the brake handle to its furthest postion, through a gate mechanism, or by pushing a separate plunger in the cab*...
, which allowed the train to stop 5 metre from the fire. Because the train had no power, it was not possible to reverse out. The 257 passengers were then immediately evacuated. All personnel acted according to regulations and no-one was injured in the accident. According to the driver, had he not lost the power, he would have continued through the tunnel, as the fire was just at a beginning stage. The train, which consisted of two Class 73 units, no. 10 and 13, eventually caught fire and was damaged beyond repair.
External links
Notes