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Forchbahn 62 returns
Forchbahn Be4/6 62 was delivered to the VBZ workshop in Altstetten by rail at 12.30 today. This vehicle was involved in an accident on 19th February - before it had even entered service - and had to be sent to Stadler for repairs. The accident report (published on 17th May) reveals more about the incident. Be4/6 61 and 62 were on a special trip to take press photographs at various locations on the city network. The pair left Forch depot at around 13:20 and proceeded to Zürich. On taking the curve at Stadelhofen, an unexpected brake application of short duration occured. The train continued via Bellevue, Rämistr, to a photo stop at Kinkelstrasse. From here it proceeded towards Oerlikon. Another unexpected brake application occurred at Irchel, and again on the turning circle at Bhf. Oerlikon. From here the units proceeded to return by the same route. Another brake application occurred at Milchbuck, this time of longer duration immobilising the train. A problem was suspected on the rear vehicle (62): The crew decided to deactivate the brake on that vehicle. The brakes, however, came on again shortly afterwards. The decison was then taken to abort the trip and take both vehicles individually into the adjacent Irchel depot. The front vehicle (61) was detached and driven into the depot. While this was happening, the brakes on 62 released themselves and the unit rolled back towards Milchbuck into the path of the oncoming 2087, causing damage to an estimated value of 100 000 CHF. The damage to 62 was by far the worse of the two because the coupling was retracted. The investigation revealed that all the locations where these mysterious brake applications occurred had one thing in common: they are all left turns. Analysis of the vehicle's 'black box' showed that the applications did indeed correlate with the use of the left indicator light. The problem has never been observed before because the Forchbahn takes no left curves on its normal route and the indicators had not been tested while the vehicle was in motion. The fault has since been corrected. The final cause of the accident was the failure by staff to secure the parked 62 correctly. The full report can be read on: http://www.uus.admin.ch/imperia/md/content/uus/schlussberichte/4020309.pdf.
this item was added on
07.09.2004 (7384 days ago) |