The Harmelen train disaster, on 8 January 1962, was the worst railway accident in the history of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Harmelen Harmelen is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Woerden, and lies about 6 km east of Woerden. In 2001, the town of Harmelen had 6557 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 1.11 km², and c ...

, in the central Netherlands, is the location of a railway junction where a branch to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

leaves the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

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.

Accident

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 ...

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 (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of th ...

, 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 accident spurred the installation on Dutch railways of the system of automatic train protection known as ''

Automatische treinbeïnvloeding Automatische TreinBeïnvloeding or ATB (English: Automatic Train Control) is a Dutch train protection system first developed in the 1950s. Its installation was spurred by the Harmelen train disaster of 1962. ATB operates by the train collecting e ...

'' (ATB), which automatically overrides the driver in such a "

signal passed at danger A signal passed at danger (SPAD), known in the United States as a stop signal overrun and in Canada as passing a stop signal, is an event on a railway where a train passes a stop signal without authority. In the United States and Canada, this ...

" situation. The junction was later rebuilt as a

flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is " g ...

in the 1990s.

Memorial

On 8 January 2012 Pieter van Vollenhoven unveiled a memorial for the victims of the disaster, which on that day, had taken place exactly fifty years ago. The organization of the disclosure was owned by the local "Dorpsplatform" Harmelen. The monument was designed by , an artist from

Kamerik Kamerik is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht ...

. 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 accident 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

Schiedam train disaster {{Infobox rail accident , name = Schiedam train disaster , image = Treinramp bij Schiedam, 24 doden overzicht en publiek, Bestanddeelnr 928-5566.jpg , caption = A ''Stoptrein'' collided with an international D-train on the morning of 4 May 1976 nea ...

(South Holland, Netherlands) *

Beresfield rail disaster Beresfield railway station is located on the Main Northern line in New South Wales, Australia. It opened on 31 July 1925, serving the western Newcastle suburb of Beresfield. History Beresfield railway station opened on 31 July 1925. 1997 coll ...

(New South Wales, Australia) * Violet Town railway disaster (Victoria, Australia)

References

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 events in Europe Rail accidents caused by a driver's error 1962 disasters in the Netherlands