THE collapse of overhead electrification lines in eastern Denmark on April 14 caused damage to trains and major disruption to services for several days.
The catenary came down initially east of Ringsted, and this was compounded later in the day when the overhead line was damaged at Copenhagen’s main station.
Infrastructure manager Banedanmark says it discovered a problem with the catenary tensioning system in West Zealand which caused the catenary to drop in height. This it turn caused train pantographs to pull the catenary down in several locations, including between Ringsted and Køge Nord.
Banedanmark halted all electric services east of Odense to prevent further damage to the overhead system and to allow repairs to be undertaken.
In addition, national operator Danish State Railways (DSB) reported damage to more than 30 EMUs which took several days to repair.
Although services resumed on April 15, trains were running at reduced frequency and in shorter formations than usual. The level of disruption gradually eased during the rest of the week.
