Video shows moment train smashes through public bus; No injuries
A public bus was destroyed in Bergen op Zoom on Monday morning after a passenger train crashed straight through it. There were no injuries in the incident, which was caught on video by a driver in the area. The bus was completely split in half.
It happened at about 9:50 a.m. on Marconilaan, police said. The empty bus was on the tracks between the lowered gates when the NS train struck it. Emergency services vehicles were quickly dispatched to the area.
“The collision caused havoc, but luckily there were no injuries. It was a traumatic experience for both the bus driver and the train driver,” said railroad infrastructure firm Prorail
The bus driver was checked by an ambulance as a precaution, but he was not hurt. There were no injuries reported on the train, police said.
A video recorded and shared on social media appeared to show someone standing near the tracks trying to signal and warn the NS train driver. The video showed the full impact when all four cars of the double-decker train smashed into, then through, the bus. Sparks briefly flared, seemingly from the high voltage lines, as the bystander walked a bit further down the road.
The person who shot the video said he believes it was the bus driver.
NS said that the incident would cause problems between Roosendaal, Kruiningen-Yerseke, and Vlissingen for the duration of the day. Passengers on that route should factor in an additional 60 minutes at least when calculating their travel time.
Bus connections were set up to help passengers complete their journeys. Prorail was still calculating a damage estimate and repair plan in the early afternoon.
