De Akkers () is the most southwestern subway station of the Rotterdam Metro and is located in the Dutch city of Spijkenisse. The station, with one island platform, opened on 25 April 1985 as a terminus of the North-South Line (also formerly called Erasmus line), nowadays line D. Since the extension of the East-West Line (Caland line) opened on 4 November 2002, the station also serves as terminus of that line. The station is named for the adjacent neighbourhood and is located on top of its shopping mall.

Whale tail sculpture

In 2002, two whale sculptures, designed by architect and named ''Walvisstaarten'' (Dutch for ''Whale's tails'') were installed at the end of the sidings beyond the station. The sculptures were made of reinforced polyester.

Train accident

Just after midnight on 2 November 2020, an empty metro train, operated by RET, on the Rotterdam Metro crashed through the

buffer stop A buffer stop, bumper, bumping post, bumper block or stopblock (US), is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track. The design of the buffer stop is dependent, in part, on the kind of couplings ...

at the end of the sidings beyond the station. The sidings are built on a viaduct projecting out over the canal. The lead car of the train partially rested on a high whale sculpture erected in front of the sidings, preventing the train from falling to the canal below. Only the driver was on board when the accident happened and he freed himself without injury. He was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. Maarten Struijs, the sculptor who created the artwork, said he was surprised that the sculpture had held together. Following the accident, Struijs was interviewed about the sculptures, and reported that he was surprised the statue was able to hold the weight of the train, and stated that "it does look rather poetic." He said the statue was never meant to be an extra safety measure for the trains. Since the crash, these sculptures have been referred to in some media with the name ''Saved by a Whale's Tail.''

References

External links

*Joey Bremer
Photographs
on

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{{Railway accidents in the Netherlands Rotterdam Metro stations located above ground Nissewaard Railway stations opened in 1985 1985 establishments in the Netherlands

Whale tail sculpture

Train accident

See also

References

External links