Kuurila railway accident
The Kuurila railway accident was the head-on collision of two passenger trains near Kuurila on March 15, 1957. At least 28 people died. The Kuurila accident was the worst in Finland in peacetime.
Starting position
On the single-track line at that time , operational safety was not guaranteed by a train-dependent safety system, but rather only by train reports from block to block. Here two trains were traveling in opposite directions:
- The night train P 64 from Tornio to Helsinki . It was pulled by the heavy Pacific locomotive of the series VR series Hr1 with the road number 1005 and also ran sleeping cars .
- The MP 41 express train from Helsinki to Pori , a service that was driven by class Dm4 diesel multiple units .
the accident
The MP 41 was late. The dispatcher from Kuurila wanted to move the crossing of the two trains to the next station , Iittala . When the two dispatchers informed them about this measure deviating from the timetable , a misunderstanding arose between them: While the dispatcher from Kuurila assumed that his colleague in Iittala had accepted the P 64, he continued from the assumption that the train crossing in Kuurila will take place. So signaled both the each of them backed up train "ride free".
The impact of the heavy steam locomotive on the lightly built railcar smashed the railcar completely. Most people died here too. The express train locomotive overturned from the track as a result of the impact , killing the engine driver and injuring the stoker . The first sleeping car behind the locomotive was badly damaged.
consequences
28 people died and 19 others were injured. The rescue work turned out to be difficult because the accident site was in a forest area and was difficult to access. Among other things, horse-drawn sleighs had to be used. While the railcars had to be taken out of service, the Hr1 1005 could be repaired and was back in service two months later.
literature
- Peter WB Semmens: Disasters on the rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ For the history of this locomotive see: Ristniemi.
- ↑ Ristniemi; Semmens, p. 157, gives 50 injuries.
- ↑ Semmens, p. 157.
Coordinates: 61 ° 6 ′ 45.4 ″ N , 24 ° 3 ′ 7.5 ″ E