According to ProRail, the cause of the power outage that hit Flevoland on Friday “million damage” to the track. Therefore, no trains can run between Lelystad and Dronten, certainly until 15 September. The rail operator announced this on Saturday. The exact damage is currently being investigated.
According to ProRail, a high-voltage cable from grid operator TenneT ended up on an overhead line of the railway near the town of Swifterbant on Friday afternoon. As a result, “an enormous amount of current” went through ProRail’s systems at once, causing underground relay boxes to break down. The failure also caused extensive damage outside the track. The province was without power for about 45 minutes.
Major damage was caused to both underground and underground railway infrastructure. ProRail is currently investigating what needs to be replaced or repaired. “It may be that over a distance of several kilometers all infrastructure for the energy supply and train protection systems will have to be renewed.”
Power cables were smoldering and burning in various places in Flevoland on Friday as a result of the outage. The A6 was temporarily closed because cables appeared damaged, resulting in large traffic jams. 350 passengers were evacuated from a stationary train between Lelystad and Dronten.