Derailed train removed from Dalfsen crash site

ProRail finished towing away the train that derailed after crashing into a crane near Dalfsen. The cleanup finished late on Wednesday afternoon and the railway company immediately started repairing the track and overhead line. ProRail had no idea that a crane would be working near the track on Tuesday. The Arriva passenger train derailed after crashing into a crane that was trying to cross the track on Tuesday. The crane operator managed to jump out in time, but the accident killed 49-year-old year old train driver Eric Breet and injured six others. The train ended up on its side in the adjacent fields. ProRail started clearing the train away on Tuesday, first towing away two carriages, then the engine and finally the last carriage late on Wednesday afternoon, according to NU. The company is now working on repairing the tracks so train traffic between Zwolle and Ommen can resume. The company expects that the repairs will take several days. A spokesperson for ProRail, Franc de Korte, told Dutch newspaper AD that the rail company had no idea that the crane was working near the tracks on Tuesday. "Normally a vehicle that wants to cross the track and is different from normal traffic in terms of speed, needs to ask permission", he said to the newspaper. The company has to ask permission to cross the track from the Department of Road Transport, which looks into whether it is necessary. If so, ProRail must issue a permit. "And then we stop the train traffic at a convenient time so that they can cross the track. I don't know if that was necessary for this type of crane. One thing I do know, they had no permit because we did not know he was coming. Otherwise the train would not have been riding there." The 21-year-old crane operator is suspected of death through negligence, causing a fatal traffic accident and creating danger on the railroad. He will remain a suspect as long as the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident is ongoing. After that, the Public Prosecutor will decide whether or not he will be prosecuted.