Soure train crash

The Soure train crash occurred on 31 July 2020 when a high-speed passenger train collided with a track maintenance vehicle at Soure, Portugal. Two people were killed and 43 were injured, three seriously.

Soure train crash
Unit 4005, the train involved in the accident
Details
Date	31 July 2020 15:26
Location	Soure
Coordinates	40°03′28″N 8°38′18″W
Country	Portugal
Line	Linha do Norte
Operator	Comboios de Portugal / Infraestruturas de Portugal
Service	Lisbon - Braga
Incident type	Collision
Cause	Human error (SPAD)[1]
Statistics
Trains	2
Passengers	212
Crew	2 (VCC) + 2 (passenger train)
Deaths	2 (in the VCC)
Injured	43

Accident

During the day of the accident (31 July 2020), the maintenance vehicle (Portuguese: Veículo de Conservação de Catenária - VCC) No. 105, belonging to Infraestruturas de Portugal, was circulating between Entroncamento and Mangualde with two crew members on board and while not doing any maintenance job.[2] Around 15:12, it stopped on a Soure station siding, while waiting for the Alfa Pendular train 4005 to pass.[3] The AP train was travelling from Lisbon to Braga, calling at Coimbra and Oporto.[4]

For unknown reasons, despite the sign on the siding being red, the maintenance vehicle resumed its course at 15:25, entering track I, which would soon be occupied by train 4005.[2] As the track became occupied by the maintenance vehicle, the track I sign changed to red and Alfa Pendular's brakes were activated but, due to the short distance between the two vehicles, this was not sufficient to avoid collision, which happened around 15:26, about 20 seconds after the maintenance vehicle entered the line.[2]

Due to the violence of the collision, the first two carriages were derailed and the maintenance vehicle was dragged for some 500 meters, where both vehicles came to a halt.[2][5] The passenger train was travelling at 190 kilometres per hour (120 mph) at the time of the collision.[4] Two people were killed and 43 were injured, three seriously.[6] The two casualties were the crew members aboard the maintenance vehicle.[7] The Alfa Pendular train was severely damaged and VCC No. 105 was destroyed.[8] Two rescue helicopters and 163 rescue personnel were sent to the scene,[4] where a field hospital was established.[8] That section of the Linha do Norte was suspended and Comboios de Portugal organized a road service to replace it.[9] Circulation on the track resumed at 01:45 2 August 2020 for the South direction, with speed restrictions, and at 09:00 of the same day for the North direction.[10]

Investigation and Aftermath

VCC No. 106, similar to that involved in the accident.

The Gabinete de Prevenção e Investição de Accidentes com Aeronaves e de Accidentes Ferriviários (GPIAAF) opened an investigation into the accident. Early indications are that the maintenance vehicle passed a signal at danger and was run into by the passenger train.[6]

In the wake of this accident, the absence of automatic train protection (ATP) in maintenance vehicles was scrutinized.[7] It came to light that, in 2018, after several events where such vehicles passed signals at danger, GPIAAF recommended that IP reassess the possibility of equipping these vehicles with ATP and act to ensure train driving qualifications of their maintenance staff.[11] IP agreed to install ATP, but this was met with difficulties in sourcing CONVEL-compatible equipment from Bombardier.[11][12]

While the suspected cause would be human error — the driver passing the signal at danger —, ATP would have prevented this accident by braking the maintenance vehicle.[1] Its incursion into the reserved block was, however, detected by the track circuit and signals were updated accordingly, but the passenger train had already passed the previous signal and balise, and proceeded at top speed expecting a clear track ahead.[6]

References

1. "Erro humano causou acidente com Alfa Pendular em Soure. Operadores da máquina passaram o sinal vermelho" [Human error caused accident with Alfa Pendular in Soure. Machine operators passed the red light] (in Portuguese). Público. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
2. "Veículo abalroado pelo Alfa passou sinal vermelho em Soure". Jornal de Notícias. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
3. "Soure: Veículo de Conservação de Catenária passou sinal vermelho". Notícias de Leiria. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
4. "Coimbra train crash: Two dead after train derails in Portugal". BBC News Online. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
5. Lusa (31 July 2020). "Alfa/Acidente: Vítimas mortais no descarrilamento em Soure eram trabalhadores da REFER". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
6. "NOTA INFORMATIVA DE ACIDENTE" [Notice informing of accident] (in Portuguese). Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes com Aeronaves e de Acidentes Ferroviários - GPIAAF. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
7. "Dois mortos em acidente com alfa pendular na zona de Soure" [Two killed in accident with alfa pendular in the Soure area]. SIC Notícias. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
8. Speare-Cole, Rebecca (31 July 2020). "Portugal train crash: Two dead and at least 37 injured as high-speed train collides with maintenance vehicle". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
9. CAMPOS, João Pedro (31 July 2020). "Identificadas as vítimas do acidente com o Alfa Pendular em Soure". Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
10. "Acidente da Linha do Norte - Comunicado". Infraestruturas de Portugal. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
11. Lusa. "IP comprometeu-se há dois anos instalar sistema CONVEL em Veículos de Conservação de Catenária" [IP committed two years ago to install CONVEL system in Catenary Conservation Vehicles] (in Portuguese). RTP. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
12. Carlos Cipriano (8 August 2020). "IP diz que monopólio europeu travou solução que evitava acidente de Soure" [IP says European monopoly hampered solution that could have prevented the Soure accident] (in Portuguese). Público. Retrieved 10 August 2020. (Subscription required.)