Travelers wait in the cold after evacuation of Tilburg station: ‘Very disappointed’

Resigned to wait. The travelers stranded at Tilburg station could not do more on Thursday. The station was evacuated just after five o’clock because a suspicious backpack was found there. Since then, no trains have run to and from Tilburg and travelers have nowhere to go. “I’m very cold.”

The majority of the travelers were picked up by friends or family around seven o’clock. Others could have taken the regional bus to get to Breda or Den Bosch station. Dozens of travelers were still waiting around seven o’clock.

“My phone is empty, so I have no idea what is going on. I still have to travel for more than three hours. I am on my way to Emmen in Drenthe,” says Alexander Kammerman. He does understand the eviction. “Safety first, but it’s a shame if you still have a long drive ahead of you.”

“When I arrived there was already a barrier tape in place.”

Marc Staps is also waiting for clarity. “Normally, in such a situation it takes three hours before the station is released again,” he says. “I arrived here and saw a lot of emergency services. You can do nothing but wait patiently. If you often travel by train, you know that this can happen. I’m glad it’s not raining.”

Floor van der Heijden was on her way to a dinner with her hockey team when she saw that she could not enter the station. “We became champions. We were going to have a bite to eat but I can’t get there now. It’s a real shame. I arrived by bike and a barrier tape was already stretched. Normally you can get from Tilburg to Eindhoven in no time. so this is annoying.”

“It’s very cold.”

Some travelers only have to travel half an hour, others will be home late. This also applies to Charléne Kommers, who still wants to go to Zeeland. “I wanted to catch the five o’clock train. But suddenly the police came and everything was cordoned off in the station hall. We then had to go outside. The ignorance is especially annoying. Little information is given, probably because they don’t want to create panic. I had to read in the media what was going on.”

If it takes a long time, Charléne will book a hotel. “It’s very cold.” Rik van Beers also suffered from that cold. He works at the Albert Heijn to Go located at the station. “We had to go outside by order of the police. I actually hope we stay closed, then I can go home. I’m cold,” he says.

It was also busy at the stations in Breda, Den Bosch and Eindhoven, because travelers could not go to Tilburg by train.

After police investigation, it eventually turned out that there was nothing dangerous in the bag. Just before eight o’clock the station in Tilburg was reopened and travelers could continue their way.

Many travelers take the regional bus (photo: Corrado Francke).
Many travelers take the regional bus (photo: Corrado Francke).

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There were no trains running to and from Tilburg station on Thursday afternoon due to a bag left on the platform

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