BERGEN (Dagbladet): – It may not be a bad intention, but a healthy reminder may be necessary. If you “always” walk the trails, or “only” cross over on rare occasions, after looking carefully, sooner or later something will go wrong. Trains come at over 100 km/h, come almost silently, are unable to turn and take 1 kilometer or more to stop, said Pål Buset, project manager at Bane NOR, in a press release.

Bane NOR issued a clear warning ahead of the Easter holiday. Especially in the festive days around Easter, people strap on their skis and take life-threatening shortcuts to get from one side of the tracks to the other, wrote Bane NOR.

– Ski trails and railroads are not shared. That’s a good rule to remember. If you’re going to cross, it’s safe and legal only if there’s a level crossing, or a road above or below the railroad tracks, explains the project manager.

The bus also reminds us that a taxi is a driver’s workplace. For them, the real horror was seeing the people in line ahead of them, and not having the chance to look away, or stop in time.

– They were sitting with their hearts in their throats, and had only to slow down, honk and hope the adults and children managed to throw themselves far enough off the track in time, said Buset.

– Toboggan running towards the track

Håkon Eggen is a train driver at Bane NOR’s work machine, Beilhack, who cleans the Bergen Railway from snow and ice every day in winter.

He often saw tracks indicating that people had skied on the railroad tracks, and on and beside the tracks, especially between Geilo and Finse.

– I get scared when I almost run into someone. It’s not fun to come driving when we know there might be people on and near the track. We honk a little more on stretches where we often see ski runs in or over the railroad tracks. I’m ready to run into someone one day, I think about it a lot, Eggen said in a press release.

He describes Dagbladet:

– I have driven both children and adults. One thing is the kids are playing, they don’t understand any better, but while the parents are watching… I have seen people sledding down the track on Easter. That’s so weird.

Hard to see

He cautioned that the train he was driving was not announced in the timetable and could pass at any time of the day. It can also be hard for them to see people in bad weather, but they still can’t look away.

– In some places on the mountain, trains come at a speed of 160 km/hour. If you’re coming at that speed, you won’t see people until you run into them, he warns.

Bane NOR received reports of several dozen skiers on or across the track over the course of a season. But tracks from skis and trampling trails or on railroads suggest that the problem is much broader:

– For train drivers, plow crews, and people who work with railroad maintenance, such a sight is common, says Buset.

– Everyone should think about this

Dangerous event

Bane NOR shared excerpts from the reported incident:

• Skiers with sleds crossing the track, between Ustaoset and Haugastøl. The skier barely manages to save himself, but his sled is picked up by the sled. Luckily, the sleigh was only filled with supplies.” (Quoted from Bane NOR’s internal synergy report)
• “Train 601 narrowly missed hitting a couple who were skiing on the track, with their backs to the train. (…) The train driver signaled “train is coming” several times before the skiers noticed the train and derailed. The train then came very close with the skiers so the driver believed he would run them over. By the time the train stopped, the skiers had disappeared. That relationship had a strong effect on the train driver.” (Extract the synergy report from the passage between Ål and Haugastøl)
• “The driver of the 472 train reported that a family skiing with sleds and young children crossed the track directly in front of the train between Lønsdal and Bolna. The train came out of the bend at 100 km/h, and the distance to the families was very small.” (Excerpt from synergy report from Nordlandsbanen section)
• “After the work train passed the Vatnestrøm stop, the driver saw three skiers on the track. The emergency brake was applied and the driver “hung” on the whistle. The skiers threw themselves up the slope. Someone was pulling the sled behind him. This was broken up by a plow on a motorized vehicle. Fortunately, the skiers came out of the incident unharmed.”
• “Locomotive driver’s report: There are always walkers, skiers and snowmobiles on the trail between Reinunga and Myrdal.”
• Skiers on the track at km 351.3 on the Bergen Railway when the 602 train arrives. The driver applied the emergency brake and managed to stop a considerable distance. Some people had difficulty getting off the trail due to the high plow edge. Drive well.”