Railway station | Glass fell from the roof onto the train platform – The roof is going to be checked

One Glass panels from the roof of Helsinki Central Station fell onto the platform on Wednesday morning.

After nine in the morning, glass chips were on the platform in an area of ​​a couple of meters, which was isolated with plastic tape. Platforms 7 and 8 were not crowded with people or trains waiting to depart, but the platform was not closed.

The employees on duty at the VR station did not tell more about the incident, but mentioned that the glass just fell. From VR’s communication, it was said that the company is aware of the matter, but the platform areas are the responsibility of the Norwegian Railways Agency.

At the Railway Agency on Wednesday morning, the exact reason for the glass falling was not yet known, says the regional manager of the agency’s maintenance Eero Liehu.

“I don’t know if there has been an external blow to it or if the canopy has somehow moved,” he commented.

Liehu says that according to the security guard, one person had been near the place where the glass fell, but he was not hit by hail.

The skylights of the station are tempered glass. In general, they are designed for safety in such a way that they “crack” when dropped. So the whole glass will not fall on anyone walking on the platform.

“Certainly if one hits the neck, it’s unpleasant,” says Liehu, however.

The railway station glass panels have fallen before. At least in 2019 one of the plates fell on top of the R train on the platform. Also then, the incident happened on track 8.

At that time, the Norwegian Railways Agency was told that the agency would find out if there were problems with the other glasses.

“Visually, it is reviewed every year, and structural experts check it then,” says Liehu.

He recalls that no problems were found with the glasses then.

The glasses have been inspected again this year. The inspections have focused especially on surfaces where glass and structures meet. The latest glass fall will also be taken into account in the inspection. According to Liehu, so far no problems have been found that would require immediate measures.

According to him, the seams of the canopy are possibly being repaired, but it is probably not related to the glass falling.

“It has more to do with whether the canopy holds water,” he says.

The electric voltage of the train tracks must be cut off during the inspections, so it is not possible to check all the glasses at the same time. According to Liehu, the inspection will be completed during the fall.