Schiedam railway accident
In the case of the Schiedam railway accident on May 4, 1976 near Schiedam , the Netherlands , two trains collided head-on, and a third train was also damaged. 24 people died.
Starting position
The accident occurred on a double-track line that was set up for track changing operations. The dispatcher used this to let the delayed "Rhein-Express" traveling eastward overtake a passenger train that was traveling in the same direction. The "Rhein-Express" was supported by a Electric Locomotive of 1300 Series drawn. A “Sprinter” consisting of two two-part railcars ran in the opposite direction . This had been directed to a siding .
the accident
The railcar ignored the signal showing "Halt" , which was supposed to prevent it from entering the main track. At that time, only around 25% of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) network was equipped with automatic train protection. The railcar drove into the track on which the express train was coming towards it . The head-on collision that followed occurred at the precise moment when the "Rhein-Express" overtook the passenger train, which was also involved in the accident.
consequences
24 people died. As a result of the accident, equipping the rail network with automatic train protection was given higher priority in the Netherlands.
literature
- Peter WB Semmens: Disasters on the rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 55 ′ 35.6 " N , 4 ° 23 ′ 47.7" E