The derailment on Sweden’s Iron Ore Line on 24 February 2024 was caused by strong winds, temperature difference between the ground and air, and a hole in a snow gallery. Because the derailment happened in very short succession after an earlier one in December 2023, there were fears of sabotage. However, Sweden now says that that was not the case.
“The direct cause of the derailment was that the axles with low axle loads were lifted up by the packed snow and the lateral forces in the curve caused the flanges to climb over the rails and derail”, commented a representative of the Swedish Maritime Accident Investigation Board commented, which published the final report on the matter.
Strong winds aggravated the situation. In combination with large ground and air temperature differences, snowdrifts of hard and packed snow formed in the track. “Another contributing factor was that a plate was missing from the wall of snow gallery 14, which caused large amounts of snow to drift onto the track and under the carriages”, the investigation board representative commented.
No sabotage
Because of the two derailments on the line that took place in short succession, there were many suspicions about possible sabotage. “But there are and have never been any signs that indicate that the derailment was caused by sabotage,” the representative added.
