Railway workers alarms: “Trains can derail” – Aftonbladet

Just north of Stockholm are some of Sweden’s busiest track. But the tracks are worn and rotting – something that could cause a derailment.

– We will increasingly closer to a fatal accident, says Björn Weidlertz, track welders and elected to Seko.

It’s SVT news that comes with the news of the worn grooves. At the distance around the Karlberg station maintenance is greatly neglected. The beams that hold the rails in place have begun to rot. In some places the retaining clips like nails fixed rails in the ground fallen off.

Since the wood has rotted so loosen the bolts.

The railway section here is also one of Sweden’s busiest. Run the trains, local trains and freight trains.

Bear Weidlertz says it neglected maintenance can lead to serious accidents.

“Would have been seven years ago”

At some of the beams are marks that have been there to indicate that they should be replaced.

– There have been a line inspection, and then you have made the spray dots to mark, says Björn Weidlertz.

He has worked for 25 years with rail maintenance, and says that some of the marks are very old.

– Some of them would have been exchanged for five to seven years ago.

In recent years, several media highlighted the Swedish railway’s neglected maintenance. The Swedish Transport Administration has acknowledged the problems. Bjorn Weidlertz says the situation just gets worse and worse.

– I honestly believe that nothing will happen before it becomes a fatal accident, he said.

“Must priorities”

Transport Administration says to SVT that they are aware that the railway line north of Stockholm, are in poor condition.

– We have an old and worn rail with deferred maintenance in Sweden and we have the then limited resources and then you get Gara tough priorities and then it can look like this, says Åke Johansson, project engineer at the Swedish Transport Administration to SVT.