De Akkers metro station crash

The De Akkers metro station crash occurred just after midnight on 2 November 2020. During the accident, an empty metro train on the Rotterdam Metro crashed through the buffer stop at the end of the sidings beyond De Akkers metro station in the city of Spijkenisse, the Netherlands. The sidings are built on a viaduct projecting out over the canal. The lead car of the train partially rested on a 10-metre (33 ft) high whale sculpture erected in front of the sidings, preventing the train from falling to the canal below.[1]

De Akkers metro station crash
The end of the line at De Akkers, with the whale sculptures visible in front of the sidings. The train came to a stop atop the second of the two sculptures.
Details
Date	2 November 2020
Location	De Akkers metro station, Spijkenisse
Country	The Netherlands
Line	Rotterdam Metro
Operator	RET
Cause	Derailment, under investigation
Statistics
Trains	1
Passengers	0
Deaths	0
Injured	0
List of rail accidents in the Netherlands

Background

The most southwesterly station on the Rotterdam Metro, De Akkers was constructed in 1985. In 2002, two whale sculptures made of polyester, designed by architect Maarten Struijs and named Walvisstaarten (Dutch for Whale's tails) were installed at the end of the sidings beyond the station. After the crash, these sculptures have been referred to in some media with the name Saved by a Whale's Tail.[2]

Incident

Shortly after arriving at the station, the train, operated by RET, failed to stop at the end of the sidings in time and crashed through the buffer stop at the line's terminus, coming to a halt with the front of the train atop one of the two sculptures, with the rear of the car held up by the edge of the viaduct. No passengers were on the train at the time of the accident, and the driver was able to evacuate the train without injury, but was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.[3]

Following the accident, Struijs was interviewed about the sculptures, and reported that he was surprised the statue was able to hold the weight of the train,[4] and stated that "it does look rather poetic." He said the statue was never meant to be an extra safety measure for the trains.[5]

See also

• O'Hare station train crash: A Chicago Transit Authority train operator fell asleep at the throttle and overshot the buffers at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport station
• Moorgate tube crash: A London Underground train overshot the buffers at Moorgate tube station

References

1. "Sculpture of whale's tail saves train from plummeting 30 feet off railway platform". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
2. "Saved by the whale: Runaway train caught by fateful sculpture". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
3. Petrány, Máté. "Out of Control Metro Train Comes to a Stop on 30-Foot-Tall Whale Tail Art Installation". The Drive. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
4. "Whale sculpture stops Dutch train crashing into water". the Guardian. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
5. Dutch news article, Algemeen Dagblad, 2 November 2020