Trains will not start running again between Den Bosch and Utrecht until next Friday. After a collision between a train and a truck loaded with pears on Thursday morning, the damage to the track on part of the route was extensive. The repair work will take much longer than expected.
A train collided with a stationary truck at the guarded level crossing at Laageinde in Meteren, Gelderland, on Thursday morning. The collision caused the lead train to end up next to the rails.
Five people were slightly injured in the collision, reports said Omroep Gelderland. This concerns the driver of the truck and four train passengers. More than five hundred people were on the train at the time of the collision. They were picked up and taken away by buses.
‘Huge damage’
Rail manager ProRail initially hoped that the trains between Den Bosch and Utrecht could start running again on Sunday. ProRail reports that the repair work will take longer now that “a clearer picture has emerged of the precise extent of the damage”.
According to ProRail, “specialist work” is required, which means the recovery will take longer than expected. The railway manager speaks of “a gigantic operation”. The repair requires, among other things, 2,000 meters of rails and 600 sleepers. The level crossing must also be completely replaced.
Stop buses run between Geldermalsen, Zaltbommel and Den Bosch.