Since the opening of the Bergen Bybanen in June 2010, many cases of crashes and near-misses have been reported.
Did you know that the Bybanen (Bergen light rail) has been crashing even before the official opening? Not once, but twice before opening, and many times since!
The first crash happened on 7th of June 2010 at around 13:40, Two bybanen wagons crashed into one another in the Bergen city centre close to the last stop, Byparken. Nobody was injured, but one of the wagons derailed, and both wagons suffered damages.
This was the first known crash of the Bybanen in Bergen, and many people feared whether the operators were competant enough...
(Transferred from NRK website http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/hordaland/1.7156859) |
| The first Bybanen crash happened during one of the tests before the official opening. |
This was the first known crash of the Bybanen in Bergen, and many people feared whether the operators were competant enough...
11th June 2010 - Bjørnsonsgate
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| Poor design of the Bybanen tracks have lead to Bjørnsonsgate being a postential death trap. Caution is advised when crossing |
The second crash in less than a week occured around noon on Bjørnsonsgate 22, when the Renault passenger car crashed into the right side of the Bybanen, and had to be towed away.
This was the second crash which occured even before the official opening of the Bybanen! The poor route planning has lead to Bjørnsonsgate having many roads crossing through the Bybanen tracks.
(Transferred from NRK nyheter) http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/hordaland/1.7163679
One would wonder what the light rail is doing on street level in the first place, as if the streets weren't crowded enough already. By designing the Bybanen to cross roads and sidewalks countless number of times poses a threat to cyclists, pedestrians and the traffic. Obviously the pedestrians, cyclists and the cars were using that road from the time before the Bybanen. The most sensible thing to do would have been to dig a tunnel underneath the road, saving time (less waiting time at intersections), space and possibly even people's lives.
2nd August 2010 - Bystasjon
The driver who made a wrong turn out of the Bystasjon parking house in Bergen Sentrum was struck by the Bybanen headed towards Nesstun around 14:20. The traffic lights for the Bybanen and for the cars coming out of the parking house turned green at the same time. The cars were only supposed to turn left, towards Danmarks Plass. Instead, the driver made a right turn.
No one was injured in the crash. Although the damage to the Bybanen was minimal, the tram was taken to Kronstad depot for servicing.
This was the second crash between cars and Bybanen, and the third Bynanen crash in history.
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5209797.ece
5th August 2010 - Danmarks Plass
Two Swedish Ladies got the shock of their life when their Toyota Aygo was rammed into by the Bybanen around 18:50.
The car was making a right turn from Fjøsangerveien to Ibsens Gate when, to their horror, the Bybanen crashed into the rear right hand side of their car. According to Frank Listøl of the police, the passenger of the car was slightly injured, but the driver escaped injuries. The car was severly damaged and had to be towed away.
It became illegal to make a right turn in the Danmarks Plass intersection after the opening of the Bybanen.
(Transferred froµ Bergens Avisen) http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5213625.ece
The intersection at Danmarks Plass was extremely dangerous and congested to begin with, and the addition of the Bybanen at street level only created more chaos.
For example, the ambulance driving from the city centre to Haukeland Hospital have to turn left to Ibsens Gate at the Danmarks Plass intersection. With the addition of Bybanen to the traffic, the waiting time at the intersection became considerably longer. Even though the motorists try to make way for the ambulance, during the rushhours there is only so much that can be done to let the ambulance through the congested intersection.
25th August 2010 - Sentrum
The truck driver was shocked to discover that he had clipped the Bybanen as he was attempting to make a right turn at Lars Hilles Gate close to Bergen emergency treatment centre around 17:20. The rear part of the truck swung out to the left (judging from the length of the overhang, probably about by 1 metre).
On this part of the road, the cars and the Bybanen are forced to drive very close to each other, which naturally means that the margin of error is very small. Caution is advised to all drivers!
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5238094.ece
8th December 2010 - Danmarksplass
Traffic came to a standstill in Danmarks plass when a man driving a Volkswagen Golf was crashed into by the Bybanen as he was crossing over the Gamle Nygaardsbro during the afternoon rushhour. The crash occured outside Tide company building, and the scene was closed for almost one hour following the crash.
The driver of the car was reported to be "in shock", but otherwise unharmed. The car suffered large material damages.
(Transferred from Bergens Avisen) http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5409392.ece
10th December 2010 - Danmarksplass
It happened again!! Same intersection as in August, the car was entering Ibsens Gate from Fjøsangerveien when the Bybanen headed for Bergen Sentrum crashed into the side of the car in the passenger section, setting off the side airbags. The car, which appeares to be an Audi A4, was severely damaged on the passenger's side door, as well as damaging the Bybanen.
Fortunately, the female driver of the car was not seriously injured, however the accident created chaos in the Danmarks plass intersection. There was also reported to be chaos on board the Bybanen after the accident, as a woman who had claustrophobia started screaming and shouting at the other passengers.
The design of the Danmarksplass intersection, with the addition of the Bybanen, means that when the cars enter the intersection there is a chance that they may be trapped within the railroad tracks due to congested traffic ahead...
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5411481.ece
No one was injured in the crash. Although the damage to the Bybanen was minimal, the tram was taken to Kronstad depot for servicing.
This was the second crash between cars and Bybanen, and the third Bynanen crash in history.
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5209797.ece
5th August 2010 - Danmarks Plass
The car was making a right turn from Fjøsangerveien to Ibsens Gate when, to their horror, the Bybanen crashed into the rear right hand side of their car. According to Frank Listøl of the police, the passenger of the car was slightly injured, but the driver escaped injuries. The car was severly damaged and had to be towed away.
It became illegal to make a right turn in the Danmarks Plass intersection after the opening of the Bybanen.
(Transferred froµ Bergens Avisen) http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5213625.ece
For example, the ambulance driving from the city centre to Haukeland Hospital have to turn left to Ibsens Gate at the Danmarks Plass intersection. With the addition of Bybanen to the traffic, the waiting time at the intersection became considerably longer. Even though the motorists try to make way for the ambulance, during the rushhours there is only so much that can be done to let the ambulance through the congested intersection.
25th August 2010 - Sentrum
The truck driver was shocked to discover that he had clipped the Bybanen as he was attempting to make a right turn at Lars Hilles Gate close to Bergen emergency treatment centre around 17:20. The rear part of the truck swung out to the left (judging from the length of the overhang, probably about by 1 metre). On this part of the road, the cars and the Bybanen are forced to drive very close to each other, which naturally means that the margin of error is very small. Caution is advised to all drivers!
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5238094.ece
8th December 2010 - Danmarksplass
The driver of the car was reported to be "in shock", but otherwise unharmed. The car suffered large material damages.
(Transferred from Bergens Avisen) http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5409392.ece
10th December 2010 - Danmarksplass
It happened again!! Same intersection as in August, the car was entering Ibsens Gate from Fjøsangerveien when the Bybanen headed for Bergen Sentrum crashed into the side of the car in the passenger section, setting off the side airbags. The car, which appeares to be an Audi A4, was severely damaged on the passenger's side door, as well as damaging the Bybanen.
Fortunately, the female driver of the car was not seriously injured, however the accident created chaos in the Danmarks plass intersection. There was also reported to be chaos on board the Bybanen after the accident, as a woman who had claustrophobia started screaming and shouting at the other passengers.The design of the Danmarksplass intersection, with the addition of the Bybanen, means that when the cars enter the intersection there is a chance that they may be trapped within the railroad tracks due to congested traffic ahead...
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5411481.ece
29th December 2010 - Slettebakken
The accident happened right before the Slettebakken station around 13:00. The conditions were slippery with snow when the Toyota Hiace van was hit by the Bybanen as it was crossing the tracks. The Bybanen came from the direction of the city and hit the Hiace on the side. Although the tram was not travelling at high speed, the combined weight of 42 tonnes (as opposed to Hiace's weight of approximately 1.6 tonnes) meant that the damage was severe for the van.
The van was coming from the right side of the tram, which meant the Hiace was hit on the driver's side; as a result the driver suffered cuts on the head from broken glass. The tram suffered minor damages on the side and the front.
(transferred from Bergens avisen) http://www.ba.no/nyheter/politikk/bybanen/article5429301.ece
22nd January 2011 - Fantoft
A Securitas van crashed into the left side of the Bybanen at high speed, causing the wagon to derail. The crash occured around 17:00, and the whole crossing was shut down for several hours, which meant no car could go in and out of Fantoft during that time.
Three people, including the driver of the van, were driven to the emergency treatment for checkups.
The crossing where it happened lies next to the Fantoft Bybanen station, and the crossing is at the end of a sharp, blind curb of the tracks. This is an extremely dangerous crossing since you have no idea that the Bybanen is approaching until about 10 seconds before the wagon enters the crossing! Many people have had close calls on that intersection since behind the curb lies a retirement home, with bright lights which resemble the lights of the Bybanen. So people think the lights are coming from the buildings, then all of a sudden they realise that it is coming closer and closer...
Picture at the bottom was taken by me!! I was almost at the scene of the crash at that time.
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5462384.ece
7th February 2011 - Paradis
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| The BMW suffered severe damages and had to be towed away after the crash. |
A BMW stationwagon driven by a women in her 40s crashed in Paradis with the Bybanen headed towards Bergen. The car suffered severe damage to the front and the female driver who was alone in the car suffered minor injuries, but no one in the Bybanen was hurt.
The intersection is the one coming out of the sports gym, and the bybanen crosses the road leading in and out of the gym parking lot. The intersection lies just 100 metres from the mouth of a tunnel, and is difficult to see the Bybanen coming out of it.
The intersection is the one coming out of the sports gym, and the bybanen crosses the road leading in and out of the gym parking lot. The intersection lies just 100 metres from the mouth of a tunnel, and is difficult to see the Bybanen coming out of it.
It took almost one hour to clear the scene and for the Bybanen to be back in operation.
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5482218.ece
26th October 2011 - Fantoft
The second crash to occur at the crossing of Fantoft Student housing happened around 21:50, when the Citroën belonging to BKF (Bergen Kirkelige Fellesråd, a church organisation) was crashed into the passenger side by the Bybanen travelling to Nesstun. The tram crossing at Fantoft are not regulated; there are only warning signs.
Even though the car which was crashed into was a church car, ït seems God wasn't on their side that day....
One person was reported to have been injured in the crash. The inpact spun the car around before it came to a rest in the middle of the tracks, blocking the passage of cars in and out of Fantoft, as well as for the trams travelling in both directions.
After the crash, the Bybanen could still travel under its own power. It took roughly 40 minutes for the Byban to be in normal operations in both directons.
Amazingly, none of the crashes which occured at Fantoft so far has been caused by drunken Fantoft students; the first crash involved a security company van, and the second, this one, involved a church organisation (whether they were drunk on communal wine, is not known).
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| The driverless Opel van which crashed into the Bybanen, injuring three people. |
A driverless Opel Vivaro van rammed into the side of the Bybanen on Bjørnsonsgate on a Sunday afternoon, sending 3 people to the emergency treatment. One man was cut severly in the head with broken glass. After the crash, the inside of the wagon had shattered glass all over.
Imagine if this had occured during the rushhour, when so many students are going to school... why do these modern tram designs have to have such large windows? All those broken glass could have easily blinded someone or cut someone up very badly!!
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| Inside of the tram was a mess after the crash |
This is what happens when the lightrail and cars are on the same street level. This would not have happened if the Bybanen was designed to travel either above or under ground...
Transferred from Bergens Avisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5893747.ece
4th October 2012 - Kaigaten
Police received a call just after 10am that a man had been hit by the Bybanen in Kaigaten. The impact threw him onto the footpath where he lay concious until he was taken to Haukeland University Hospital.
The 18 year old man had been coming from Festplassen when he wasn't paying close attention when crossing the Bybanen line, and was hit by the tram. He was lucky enough only to suffer minor injuries and not be dragged under the tram.
Source: Bergensavisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article6268014.ece
24th November 2012 - Sletten
The driver of the Subaru Forrester never saw the Bybanen coming when driging into one of the many Bybanen crossings between Sletten and Slettebakken stations.The car was making a left turn towards Bergenshallen just before 2pm when the Bybanen heading towards Nesstun could not stop in time, and hit the Subaru on the left hand side.
Although the car was hit severely, it was able to drive on after the investigation had completed. This is the second crash which occured at the crossing by Bergenshallen.
Source: Bergensavisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article6360532.ece
28th February 2013- Kaigaten
And here we go again. This time, the Bybanen hit a truck which was parked partly on the footpath. Nobody was injured, because the accident was merely a "scrape" rather than a proper crash.
Although the truck shouldn't have been parked there in the first place, why didn't the Bybanen conductor stop the tram if he saw that the truck was in the way? The place of the accident is between Nonneseter and Byparken stations, and its a nice straight line, with nothing in the way to obstruct vision. There is no excuse for not stopping to wait for the tram tracks to clear up instead of just plowing through and damaging both the truck and the Bybanen. Shortly after 2pm, the police confirmed that the truck had been driven away, and the Bybanen was able to move from the scene.
Photo: Magne Turøy
Source: Bergensavisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article6525682.ece
There are navigating buttons at the top of this page, so if you want to look at the maps of where the crashes have occured, the map is there with all the crashes listed in chronological order. You can match the numbers with the locations. You can see that there are accident "hotspots" - intersections where crashes are most common. Have the planners learnt anything from the past crashes and how they can be prevented in the future? I am not sure...
Although the truck shouldn't have been parked there in the first place, why didn't the Bybanen conductor stop the tram if he saw that the truck was in the way? The place of the accident is between Nonneseter and Byparken stations, and its a nice straight line, with nothing in the way to obstruct vision. There is no excuse for not stopping to wait for the tram tracks to clear up instead of just plowing through and damaging both the truck and the Bybanen. Shortly after 2pm, the police confirmed that the truck had been driven away, and the Bybanen was able to move from the scene.
Photo: Magne Turøy
Source: Bergensavisen http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article6525682.ece
There are navigating buttons at the top of this page, so if you want to look at the maps of where the crashes have occured, the map is there with all the crashes listed in chronological order. You can match the numbers with the locations. You can see that there are accident "hotspots" - intersections where crashes are most common. Have the planners learnt anything from the past crashes and how they can be prevented in the future? I am not sure...
If you are from outside Bergen and want to know more about the Bybanen, here's a link to the Wikipedia article (in English): http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bybanen_i_Bergen
I will be posting more articles (in two years since the opening, there have been so many crashes) so if you want to be updated, you can subscribe to my blog.
Also, if you have any comments, feel free to leave a comment!!
Maybe you were there when those crashes occured? I would like to hear about your experiences too!
Norwegian city of Bergen is located on the southwest coast of the nation. Encircled by mountains and fjords, the longest and deepest in the nation is the Sognefjord. Beautiful wooden houses may be seen on the historic pier in Bryggen, once the center of the Hanseatic League's trade empire. Use Limowide for bergen airport transport.
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