Hundreds stranded in NS Intercity train for hours
About a thousand people were stuck on a broken train to Utrecht for hours on Thursday evening. The train left The Hague at 5:55 p.m. and broke down near Moordrecht. Passengers were only evacuated, and on their way to the next station around midnight, a spokesperson for NS informed NU.nl.
On social media, travelers reported that there were no lights on the broken train, the toilets did not work, the doors could not open, and they had nothing to eat or drink.
NS first tried to tow the broken train away, but that proved impossible due to a defect on the stranded train. The cause is not yet clear. At around 10:00 p.m., the rail company parked another train next to the broken one and started evacuating passengers.
After all the passengers were on the new train, they still had to wait for permission to run. The train only left around midnight. “We worked with all our might to bring everyone home, but we had a lot of setbacks,” the NS spokesperson said. People who couldn’t get home were urged to contact NS customer service.
According to the spokesperson, there were about 1,000 passengers on the train, as well as two conductors and a driver. The train between The Hague and Utrecht is always quite full, the spokesperson said.
Inmiddels is het licht uitgevallen zijn er wat ramen opengezet voor frisse lucht. Onze omroeper is zelf ook opgelucht denk ik😂 #spooktrein @ns #ns #trein #gestrand pic.twitter.com/BrUBbZ7UdF
— paula zimmerman (@paula63) January 12, 2023
Slechte informatievoorziening @ns. Nu al twee en een half uur zonder betrouwbare informatie. #ns #gestrand #trein pic.twitter.com/eTP4EkQT94
— paula zimmerman (@paula63) January 12, 2023
Evacuatie #ns #gestrand #trein@ns pic.twitter.com/WpuQlJl7Wx
— paula zimmerman (@paula63) January 12, 2023
Eindelijk na bijna 6 uur in de trein op de plaats van bestemming! Was liever naar parijs gegaan 😅 #ns #trein #gestrand pic.twitter.com/8ntiNhpsJD
— paula zimmerman (@paula63) January 12, 2023