Half of train involved in Voorschoten crash removed today; Strong wind delayed salavage
ProRail hopes to transport two of the four cars of the NS intercity train involved in an accident in Voorscoten last week on Tuesday morning. The salvage of the other two train cars, which ended up in a meadow next to the track, got delayed by strong winds on Monday, a ProRail spokesperson told NU.nl. The rail manager hopes to start salvaging those train cars on Tuesday evening.
Of the two trainsets likely to be transported on Tuesday morning, one was still on the track after the accident. ProRail straightened and set the other one back on the track - on new wheelsets - on Monday afternoon, using two cranes from lifting and transport company Marmoet.
The two train cars will be driven to the nearby The Hague station to turn around and will then go to their final destination in Amersfoort.
ProRail hopes to start salvaging the other two train cars on Tuesday evening. The rail manager postponed that work due to strong winds, a spokesperson told NU.nl. The meteorological institute KNMI expects wind force 6 in the coastal provinces on Tuesday, which equates to sustained wind speeds between 39 and 49 kilometers per hour. ProRail hopes the wind will die down by the evening.
The two train cars in the meadow will be transported to a nearby company on a special platform. There they will be loaded onto trucks and transported to Amersfoort.
Once all four train cars have been removed, ProRail can start repairing the track, platform, overhead lines, and underground safety system. ProRail expects this to take until at least April 18. Train traffic between The Hague and Leiden can only resume once the repairs are done.
Last week Tuesday, a freight train and an NS intercity collided with a construction crane in Voorschoten. The passenger train derailed and partially ended up in the meadow. The crane operator died in the accident, and about 30 people on the NS train, including the driver and two conductors, sustained injuries of varying severity. ProRail removed the last cars of the freight train on Thursday.
