Hjuksebø train disaster
| Date | 15 November 1950 |
|---|---|
| Time | 10:50 |
| Location | 3 km south of Hjuksebø station 93 km (58 mi) SW from Oslo |
| Coordinates | 59°28′07″N 9°19′51″E / 59.46861°N 9.33083°ECoordinates: 59°28′07″N 9°19′51″E / 59.46861°N 9.33083°E |
| Country | Norway |
| Rail line | Sørlandet Line |
| Type of incident | Collision |
| Cause | Runaway freight wagons |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Passengers | 19 |
| Deaths | 14 |
The Hjuksebø train disaster was a rail accident on the Sørlandet Line on 15 November 1950 between the stations of Hjuksebø and Holtsås in the Sauherad municipality in Telemark, Norway. With fourteen deaths resulting from the crash, this was Norway's worst railway accident in peacetime until the Tretten train disaster in 1975. The accident was caused by runaway freight cars running into an express passenger train.
The passenger train was no. 72, en route from Kristiansand to Oslo. It consisted of a three-car NSB Class 66 electric multiple unit, which NSB operated on the line as a "lyntog" ("lightning train"). In the control car at the front of the train was driver Emil Grimsrud. It had left Kristiansand at 08:00, by the time the train left Nordagutu at 10:45 it was eight minutes behind schedule.
Up at Hjuksebø station, at 10:40 passenger train no. 5443 had arrived after a trip on Bratsberg Line from Notodden. It entered track 2 on the station. Already assembled at this track were seven freight cars, which were supposed to be attached to train no. 5444, on a trip back to Notodden. In order to ready this train, these freight cars would need to be shunted out of the way, so that the engine could make a turn-around for the return journey.
Normally, the operation of preparing the freight train would wait until the passenger express train from Kristiansand had passed through Hjuksebø, but on this day the shunter at the station was informed that the express was a few minutes delayed. With this extra time, he decided that there was sufficient time to execute the turn-around operation now. The engine of train 5443 was detached from its carriages and pushed the freight cars ahead of it southwards with the intention of pulling them back in on track 3, ready for the return journey. Unfortunately, the four freight cars at the front were not attached to the rest of the train.
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