This Day In Dutch History

The worst railway disaster in Dutch

occurred at Harmelen

08 January 1962

The Netherlands worst-ever rail accident occurred on a foggy morning in the middle of the winter of 1962.

At a lonely junction near Woerden, two trains collided with catastrophic effects.

At Harmelen the line from Amsterdam leaves the mainline between Rotterdam and Utrecht.

For a short distance, Amsterdam trains crossed over from the eastbound line to the westbound line before being diverted onto the Amsterdam line.

It was shortly before twenty past nine in the morning of Monday January 8, 1962 when a train bound for Amsterdam was snaking through the junction.
Consisting of two electric multiple units it was moving at about 45 mph.
The manoeuvre was protected from oncoming train by a red signal on the approach to the junction from the Utrecht direction.

A Utrecht to Rotterdam express train, headed by an electric locomotive, No. 1137 and travelling at about 60 mph was approaching the junction.

Perhaps because of the foggy conditions, the driver missed a yellow light warning that the next signal was at red.
It must have been at the last moment that he saw the danger signal.
The driver applied the brakes but there was nothing more that he could do.

Collision was inevitable.
The lead car of the EMU was about to enter the turnout from the main line when the locomotive of the express struck.
The superior weight and speed of the express loco ensured that the more lightly built car was pushed to one side.
The express ploughed on through the EMU, bringing down the overhead power lines and eventually destroying 6 of the Amsterdam train's coaches.
Three of the coaches of the express were also destroyed.

Between them, the trains were carrying about 500 people.
91 of them, including the drivers of both trains, lost their lives.
54 peoples were seriously wounded, of whom 2 later died in hospital

The Harmelen accident acted as a catalyst which spurred on the search for an automatic train control system.
Development of such a system had begun in 1954.
The system which was eventually installed on many lines in Holland is called Automatsiche TreinBeinvloeding.

It operates by collecting signals from line-side apparatus and will overide the driver's controls in the following situations:
a) failure to brake for a red signal (ATB makes an immediate brake application)
b) failure to reduce speed at a caution signal (ATB will slow the train sufficiently to stop at the next signal)
c) failure to observe speed limit (ATB slows the train)