{"id":224963,"date":"2025-05-27T17:52:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T07:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=62814"},"modified":"2025-05-27T17:52:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T07:52:54","slug":"not-sabotage-nor-climate-change-malmbanan-derailment-was-caused-by-a-faulty-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=224963","title":{"rendered":"Not sabotage nor climate change: Malmbanan derailment was caused by a faulty wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2023, a freight train derailed along the Malmbanan (also known as Iron Ore Line) in Sweden. Swedish authorities have now concluded that the accident was caused by a cracked wheel, excluding previous hypotheses of sabotage or climate change.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>\u201cThe direct cause of the derailment was a wheel moving along its axle\u201d, the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) stated in its final report. The wheel moved due to a fracture resulting from a fatigue crack on its flange, \u201cwhich led to the wheel losing its press fit on the axle\u201d.<\/p>\n

Two derailments in short succession<\/h2>\n

The derailment occurred on 17 December 2023. It started in Tornehamn, north of Kiruna, and continued for 15 kilometres to Vassijaure, causing significant damage to the infrastructure but, luckily, no injuries. The line had to remain closed until 20 February 2024. Less than a week after the reopening, another train derailed and the line was closed until 6 March 2024.<\/p>\n

The short time between the two derailments raised suspicions of sabortage. However, for the second derailment, SHK identified strong winds, temperature difference between the ground and air, and a hole in a snow gallery as the main causes.<\/p>\n