Harmelen Train Disaster
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The Harmelen train disaster, on 8 January 1962, was the worst railway accident in the history of the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Harmelen, in the central Netherlands, is the location of a railway junction where a branch to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
leaves the
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
to
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
line. It is common at high-speed junctions to avoid the use of diamond crossings wherever possibleinstead, a ladder crossing is employed where trains destined for the branch line cross over to the track normally employed for trains travelling in the opposite direction for a short distance before taking the branch line. The accident happened 18 months after the Woerden train accident, the derailment of a British furlough train nearby. Previously, the Weesp train disaster of 1918 had been the worst railway disaster in the Netherlands.


Collision

Shortly before 9.20 a.m. on Monday, 8 January 1962, a foggy day, a Rotterdam to Amsterdam local-train consisting of
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
sets 700 and 297 was authorised to carry out this manoeuvre, protected by a red signal to stop trains approaching from Utrecht. The EMU was travelling at approximately 75 km/h (47 mph). Simultaneously, an express train from
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
to
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, hauled by electric locomotive 1131, was approaching at 107 km/h (67 mph). Perhaps because of the foggy weather, the driver of the train from Utrecht missed the warning yellow signal and applied the emergency brake when he saw the red signal protecting the junction, far too late to prevent a near head-on collision between the two trains. Six coaches of the Amsterdam train and three on the express train were destroyed.


Victims

Both trains were heavily packed180 occupants in the six-carriage multiple units and circa 900 aboard the 11-carriage express train, made up of seven recent vehicles and five old Mat '24 trailers. Of approximately 1080 people aboard the trains, 93 lost their lives, including the drivers of both trains.


Aftermath

The collision spurred the installation on Dutch railways of the system of
automatic train protection Automatic train protection (ATP) is the generic term for train protection systems that continually check that the speed of a train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signalling, including automatic stop at certain signal aspects ...
known as '' Automatische treinbeïnvloeding'' (ATB), which automatically overrides the driver in such a " signal passed at danger" situation. The junction was later rebuilt as a flying junction in the 1990s.


Memorial

On 8 January 2012,
Pieter van Vollenhoven Pieter van Vollenhoven Jr. (born 30 April 1939) is the husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and a member, by marriage, of the Dutch royal house. Early life and career Van Vollenhoven was born in Schiedam, he is the second son of Pi ...
unveiled a memorial for the victims of the disaster, which on that day had taken place exactly 50 years earlier. The organization of the disclosure was owned by the local "Dorpsplatform" Harmelen. The monument was designed by , an artist from Kamerik. The mason was Maurice van Dam from Woerden. The design consists of two stone slabs that are tilted relative to each other and contain the names of the 93 victims. Looking through the two slabs discloses the actual spot where the collision happened. A red stone plinth, bearing a body that represents the victims, is placed in the middle in front of the two slabs. Three names on the slabs were spelled incorrectly; the names are copied from contemporary handwritten police reports. The mistakes have since been corrected.


Similar accidents

* 1976 Schiedam train accident (South Holland, Netherlands) * Beresfield rail disaster (New South Wales, Australia) *
Violet Town railway disaster The Violet Town rail accident, also known as the Southern Aurora disaster, was a railway accident that occurred on 7 February 1969 following the incapacitation of the driver of one of the trains, near the McDiarmids Road crossing, approximatel ...
(Victoria, Australia)


See also

* Train stops


References


Further reading

*


External links

* *
Danger Ahead! site (includes photographs of the disaster)
{{Railway accidents in the Netherlands Train collisions in the Netherlands Railway accidents in 1962 1962 in the Netherlands Railway accidents involving fog Woerden Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger Accidents and incidents involving Nederlandse Spoorwegen January 1962 in Europe Rail accidents caused by a driver's error 1962 disasters in the Netherlands