Poor condition of railway tracks slows down trains in Jyväskylä area
Extent of repairs will be decided on within two weeks
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Every train passenger planning to travel via Jyväskylä should be prepared for at least 10 to 25-minute delays to his or her journey. Because of the poor condition of the track between Jämsänkoski and Jyväskylä, the current speed limit on this section is a mere 50 km/h.
"Within the next couple of weeks an expert working group will examine the track and decide on the best course of action to bring it up-to-date", explains Ossi Niemimuukko, chief director of Finnish Rail Administration.
The poor shape of the track was uncovered when a night express train was partially derailed last Wednesday. The accident caused no injuries, largely because the train was already travelling at a crawl over the suspect area of track.
A radar inspection revealed at least three different breaches in the track. The working group's task now is to decide whether to replace the cracked segments or to rebuild the entire track.
The rails from the 1970s are hard French steel. According to Niemimuukko, the hardness of the steel is suspected of having caused its fatigue.
A quick survey among passengers reveals that the delay surprises but does not scare people. Professor Urho Kujala says: "When the problem has been realized, there should not be any surprises. Accidents always happen unexpectedly."
An express train's normal travelling speed in Finland is 140 km/h, apart from the Pendolino trains which travel at 30 to 40 percent higher speeds compared with conventional trains.
"Within the next couple of weeks an expert working group will examine the track and decide on the best course of action to bring it up-to-date", explains Ossi Niemimuukko, chief director of Finnish Rail Administration.
The poor shape of the track was uncovered when a night express train was partially derailed last Wednesday. The accident caused no injuries, largely because the train was already travelling at a crawl over the suspect area of track.
A radar inspection revealed at least three different breaches in the track. The working group's task now is to decide whether to replace the cracked segments or to rebuild the entire track.
The rails from the 1970s are hard French steel. According to Niemimuukko, the hardness of the steel is suspected of having caused its fatigue.
A quick survey among passengers reveals that the delay surprises but does not scare people. Professor Urho Kujala says: "When the problem has been realized, there should not be any surprises. Accidents always happen unexpectedly."
An express train's normal travelling speed in Finland is 140 km/h, apart from the Pendolino trains which travel at 30 to 40 percent higher speeds compared with conventional trains.
Helsingin Sanomat