Collision between freight train and ICE in the Netherlands:
Railline: Zevenaar (the Netherlands) - Emmerich (Germany).
Trains involved: ICE (high speed passenger train Amsterdam - Frankfurt am Main) and empty containertrain going to Rotterdam.
Location: close to the border, where the Betuweroute freight only line joins the original line to Germany.
So far, no injuries reported. The line will be out of action for the rest of the day.
Pictures make it appear to be what is termed in the US a ‘sideswipe’. Without knowing the exact track layout, it would appear that the empty train was crossing over to the other main (or yard lead) from the track that the ICE was operating on…if this was the case, then the ICE must have run a STOP signal, either that or the signal system displayed a false clear.
Note - depending on Sun conditions it is sometimes possible for reflected sunlight on a signal to give a particular aspect(s) the appearance of being lighted, even when it isn’t.
ATB-EG fails to provide adequate protection again. Marc, do you think Prorail will ever get around to converting Emmerich - Zevenaar over to 15kV/67 Hz with ERTMS or is that idea dead?
It is too early to say what the exact reason is for the collision. It seems that usually a red signal is ignored in these cases. The ICE was going east (to Germany) and the empty container train was going west from the crossborder line onto the Betuweroute.
The plan is still on to change over the stretch from the junction at Zevenaar station (lines going to Doetinchem (and on to Winterswijk) and Emmerich) to Emmerich from 1500 V DC to 15 kv. Will probably happen when the Germans build a third track Oberhausen-Emmerich (that is still on according to a German cabinet minister, just don’t hold your breath in the mean time…). Don’t know about the signalling system though.
Local cross border traffic (Arnhem-Zevenaar-Emmerich) then will be in the hands of diesel trains run by the then operator of the Arnhem-Zevenaar-Doetinchem-Winterswijk line, if it is decided to run them. With the ICE, cross border passenger trains no longer stop at Emmerich, bucking the trend elswhere.
A strange twist: Dutch national police reports that 300 meters of copper cable is missing from the site. It may have contributed to the collision.
Since an unspecified time last year 29 people suspected of theft of copper along the tracks have been taken into custody. And if I remember correctly theft of copper has cost the trackowner, Prorail, some 10 million euros last year.
Lets see 10 million (EUROs) equal 12.78 Million (US$$) at an approx 4.3642 cents per pound of copper in US currency.
Those 29 people arrested for theft will have plenty to pay their lawyers,[:'(]
not to mention legal Dutch recreational pharmaseuticals . [B)]
And they say legal drugs will reduce crime.
It doesn’t seem to be working in Europe.
Murder rates 2009:
Netherlands 0.92 per 100,000 people
USA 5.0 per 100,000 people
The cost to Prorail is not just the copper , but the cost of labor and downtime while cables are replaced.
Prorail is now investigating replacing copper cable with alternatives. Also, some 250 critical points in the network are now under increased surveillance.
The theft of these 300 meters of copper cable signals a new period according to the transport minister. The thieves knew what they were doing, they disabled alarmsystems so dispatchers did not get warnings.
As for using drugs, the common junk has no time for this kind of nonsense, it is much easier to steal purses. Also, serious thefts like this or the complete disappearance of trucks with you name it as loads (electronics and cigarettes mainly) almost always points to organized crime, a lot from Eastern Europe (not saying that is the case here).
As for guns? Thank god we have very tough laws on them. Most classes are banned altogether, you need a safe place in your home to store them and permits all around. Move one 19th century old gun without a permit and police takes them all from your home.
The murder rate is about equally split between murders amongst / by criminals and the rest (which is, in large part, domestic in nature).