Railway accident in the Simplon tunnel (2011)

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In this railway accident in Simplon Tunnel 9 June 2011 came a freight train in the Simplon Tunnel fire, in which property had been damaged extensively.

Starting position

The Simplon route crosses under the Simplon area with the two single-track tunnel tubes of the Simplon tunnel . The border between Italy and Switzerland is located in the tunnel . It also belongs to the western axis of the two-axis NEAT / AlpTransit . In the early morning of June 9, 2011, a BLS AG freight train ran from Novara , Italy to Rostock , Germany . The train was pulled by two electric locomotives of the Re 4/4 series .

the accident

At an unknown time before the train left Domodossola , unauthorized persons tampered with a semi-trailer that was loaded with steel and ceramic products. Later, a cut was discovered in the tarpaulin of five other semi-trailers that had been transported on the train and did not catch fire . Therefore, attempted theft or vandalism is suspected to be the triggering cause of the accident . The tarpaulin of another semi-trailer came loose, which was technically only possible if the tailgate of the trailer had been opened improperly. This tarpaulin came off about three kilometers after the train entered the southern portal of the Simplon Tunnel, while still on Italian territory . The wind in the tunnel hit it several times against the overhead line . The resulting voltage flashover created an electric arc and set the semi-trailer on fire. In a heat of up to 800 ° C, this quickly spread to other wagons on the train.

consequences

Immediate consequences

The train driver was able to get to safety unharmed. People were not injured in the accident, but there was considerable property damage. The emergency services could only extinguish the fire after about twelve hours.

The repair was completed in mid-November 2011. It lasted six months and cost around 12 million francs. Among other things, shotcrete was applied to the damaged tunnel vault over an area of ​​around 5500 square meters , 630 meters of track and 120 square meters of the side masonry were completely replaced, and 14 kilometers of wires and associated insulators were replaced on the overhead lines.

The fire destroyed one of the two 132 kV cables from the Massaboden power plant to the Varzo mobile substation . If the other cable had failed, only the contact line would have been available for the traction power supply .

aftermath

After the fire, the Simplon Tunnel was only partially accessible until November 18, 2011. As a result, a profile tracking system was installed at the exit of Domodossola station in the direction of Simplon, which triggers an alarm if parts of a train or its load protrude from the clearance profile . In the event of such an alarm, the train is stopped at the Preglia station between Domodossola and the Simplon tunnel.

Railpool locomotive at Domodossola station in 2011, used for reactive power compensation

In order to avoid an excessive voltage drop in the future if both 132 kV feed lines from the Massaboden power plant fail at the same time , two class 185 locomotives from Railpool were stationed in Domodossola as regulated reactive power compensators from July 2011 .

Accident investigation

The Italian authorities were responsible for investigating the accident because the fire broke out on Italian territory . The results of a parallel report by the Swiss investigation authority were incorporated into the report of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport .

Worth knowing

A railway accident with the same cause occurred on April 14, 2018 on the Austrian Southern Railway near the Perchtoldsdorf stop . The torn loose tarpaulin of a swap body came into contact with the overhead line and the tarpaulin, the car with the container and the two following cars caught fire. There was considerable damage to the vehicles and the railway infrastructure and operational disruptions.

literature

  • Martin Aeberhard: Unconventional emergency voltage support on the Simplon . In: Swiss Railway Review 8/2011. ISSN 1022-7113, p. 394.
  • NN: Emergency power supply for the Simplon southern ramp in operation . In: Swiss Railway Review 10/2011. ISSN 1022-7113, p. 497.
  • NN: Simplon Tunnel: From fire to proper renovation . In: Swiss Railway Review 1/2012. ISSN 1022-7113, p. 8.
  • Mathias Rellstab: Fire in the Simplon Tunnel paralyzes passenger and freight traffic . In: Swiss Railway Review 7/2011. ISSN 1022-7113, p. 361 f.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Such a system would not necessarily have prevented the accident of June 9, 2011: A loose tarpaulin could hit the overhead contact line within the clearance profile.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Rellstab.
  2. ↑ a b c d e SDA: Fire in the Simplon Tunnel .
  3. ↑ aargauerzeitung.ch: From Friday, trains will roll through the Simplon Tunnel again , November 17, 2011
  4. ^ NN: Simplon Tunnel .
  5. ↑ Aeberhard.
  6. ↑ NN: emergency supply .
  7. ↑ ho / reic: Burning freight train on the Austrian Southern Railway . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 6/2018, p. 313.