Trains stop, road closes in Flevoland due to power outage damage

There will be no trains between Lelystad and Dronten until at least 5 a.m. on Monday, due to a faulty overhead wire caused by a power outage in parts of Flevoland on Friday. Buses will be used instead and intercity trains along the route will be diverted to Amersfoort, according to the NS. The N307/Overijsselseweg near Dronten will also remain closed until at least noon on Saturday.

The power outage was caused by a short circuit and a subsequent fire at the high-voltage substation in Lelystad where work was being done at that time, according to grid operator TenneT. The usual safety mechanisms failed and power lines overheated as a result.

"The power grid is constantly being worked on and 99 out of 100 times it goes well," Han Slootweg, professor of electrical engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology, told the NOS. "Short circuits also occur more often, but just like at home the earth leakage circuit breaker switches everything off in the event of a short circuit, this also happens on a larger scale in such a high-voltage station, and that happens within tenths of a second."

A second backup system also failed, according to the NOS, creating an exceptional situation where cables sagged to the ground and caused extensive damage. FlevoWegen reported that repair work on the N307, including clearing power cables, is taking longer than expected and that the reopening of the road will therefore be delayed. Meanwhile, ProRail reports significant damage to equipment due to the power outage. A high-voltage cable that fell on an overhead line near Swifterbant after the power outage sent an enormous amount of power to the NS network, burning out switches and cables.

"We expect the recovery to take a long time," the rail network operator said. Later this weekend, more will be known about the "further forecast" about train traffic on this route, according to the NS.

Due to the power outage, about 350 passengers were trapped in a train that came to a standstill on Friday afternoon. They had to be evacuated from the train and continued their journey by bus, according to ProRail.