Tretten train disaster

The Tretten train disaster occurred on 22 February 1975 when a northbound train (no. 351) from Oslo and a southbound express train (no. 404) from Trondheim, both loaded with vacationing skiers,[1] collided head-on 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) north of Tretten station.[2] With 27 killed, including seven children under 16,[3] and 25 injured, it was the worst train crash in Norwegian peacetime history.[4] One accident victim was from the United States[5] while the rest were Norwegians, including the politician Tønnes Andenæs. Altogether there were around 800 passengers on the two 12-car trains. Most of those killed were in one car of the northbound train. The operators of both trains survived; one jumped from the cab before the collision. The accident happened because the northbound train, running late, did not wait at Tretten station to let the other pass.[3] One train driver told a newspaper that it was difficult to see the signals because the sun was low in the sky.[6] A station master had cut power to the trains and attempted to warn them, but too late.[7]

In the aftermath of the disaster new safety precautions were discussed and introduced.[8]

References

  1. ↑ United Press International, "Trains Collide Head-on", Playground Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Sunday 23 February 1975, Volume 30, Number 14, page 2A.
  2. ↑ "Store norske leksikon - Tretten-ulykken". Snl.no. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  3. 1 2 "Two Trains Collide Killing 26 (sic) in Norway", Star-News (Wilmington Morning Star) 24 February 1973.
  4. ↑ "Fakta: Togulykker med omkomne i Norge - Dagbladet". Dagbladet.no. 2000-11-13. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  5. ↑ "George Lorenzo Goodman, 55, an American musician living in West Germany", "27 Killed, 15 Injured when 2 Trains Collide in Norway", Beaver Country Times 24 February 1975.
  6. ↑ "Sun May Be Crash Factor", Milwaukee Journal 24 February 1975.
  7. ↑ Beaver Country Times.
  8. ↑ "8.8.1 Trettenulykken...". regjeringen.no. Retrieved 2010-03-15.

Coordinates: 61°19′00″N 10°19′00″E / 61.3167°N 10.3167°E / 61.3167; 10.3167


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