Aarhus light rail train bumps into car during test run
A train collided with a private car during testing of the yet-to-open Letbane light railway in Aarhus on Tuesday night.
The collision occurred just before 10:30pm on Tuesday, East Jutland Police spokesperson Jakob Christiansen confirmed to news agency Ritzau.
No injuries resulted from the incident.
The car was driven by a 19-year-old man who whose vehicle was hit by the train as he turned across the tracks, Christiansen said.
The train was moving at low speed when the collision occurred.
Aarhus Letbane head of communication Jens Velling told Ritzau on Wednesday that Aarhus Letbane was confident in its safety procedures.
“We care very much about safety. Our light rail drivers are trained to follow the rules, drive correctly and be considerate to all vehicles,” the communications officer said.
The collision is reported to have occurred as a result of the driver of the car turning left at a junction where that type of manoeuvre is forbidden.
“It is hard to do anything about a car driver turning left where it is forbidden to turn left,” Velling said.
“We have now test driven around 100,000 kilometres. In that period, we have registered two accidents – both small incidents with minimum material damage. In both cases the other party did something they should not have, according to traffic rules,” he added.
Initially scheduled to begin operations in September, the official opening of the railway was cancelled the day before an expensive opening event after the Danish Transport Authority declared safety procedures put in place by operator Keolis to be insufficient.
The rail has since worked to secure the lacking safety approvals.
Danish Transport Authority director Carten Falk Hansen told Ritzau last month that the end of that process was now in sight. A new decision on when the Letbane will open is expected to be announced following a meeting between operators and authorities on Friday.
Tuesday’s collision is not the first coming-together between one of the new trains and a car. In September, a similar minor incident without injuries was reported after a train came into contact with a car at a busy junction.
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The collision occurred just before 10:30pm on Tuesday, East Jutland Police spokesperson Jakob Christiansen confirmed to news agency Ritzau.
No injuries resulted from the incident.
The car was driven by a 19-year-old man who whose vehicle was hit by the train as he turned across the tracks, Christiansen said.
The train was moving at low speed when the collision occurred.
Aarhus Letbane head of communication Jens Velling told Ritzau on Wednesday that Aarhus Letbane was confident in its safety procedures.
“We care very much about safety. Our light rail drivers are trained to follow the rules, drive correctly and be considerate to all vehicles,” the communications officer said.
The collision is reported to have occurred as a result of the driver of the car turning left at a junction where that type of manoeuvre is forbidden.
“It is hard to do anything about a car driver turning left where it is forbidden to turn left,” Velling said.
“We have now test driven around 100,000 kilometres. In that period, we have registered two accidents – both small incidents with minimum material damage. In both cases the other party did something they should not have, according to traffic rules,” he added.
Initially scheduled to begin operations in September, the official opening of the railway was cancelled the day before an expensive opening event after the Danish Transport Authority declared safety procedures put in place by operator Keolis to be insufficient.
The rail has since worked to secure the lacking safety approvals.
Danish Transport Authority director Carten Falk Hansen told Ritzau last month that the end of that process was now in sight. A new decision on when the Letbane will open is expected to be announced following a meeting between operators and authorities on Friday.
Tuesday’s collision is not the first coming-together between one of the new trains and a car. In September, a similar minor incident without injuries was reported after a train came into contact with a car at a busy junction.
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