Rotterdam Metro saved by art!

[jopsuk]

A Rotterdam Metro train appears to have runaway in the sidings beyond De Akkers in Spijkenisse, the south terminus of lines C&D, coming to rest on a giant sculpture of whale (or dolphin) tail that rises from the canal

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Joey Bremer

@010fotograaf

Bij metrostation De Akkers in Spijkenisse is een metro door het stootblok heengereden. Het treinstel bungelt zo'n 8 meter boven de grond en rust op een kunstwerk. Gekeken wordt hoe de metro geborgen kan worden. De metrobestuurder is voor controle naar het ziekenhuis gebracht.
Translated from Dutch by
At metro station De Akkers in Spijkenisse, a metro ran through the buffer. The trainset dangles about 8 meters above the ground and rests on a work of art. It is being investigated how the metro can be salvaged. The metro driver has been taken to hospital for a check-up.









1:19 AM · Nov 2, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Wow, it was lucky that in effect, the whale saved the train and driver from something much worse. (The livery at the top of the train, reminds me a bit of the old NSE colours and the red doors a bit like some TFL and other liveries).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Wow, that's a bit Italian Job!

 

[talltim]

At the whale weigh station

Pic from other side https://www.aviation24.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/belgaimage-169842215-full-scaled.jpg

 

[jamesontheroad]

The driver will have quite the tail to tell. I doubt that journey was listed in orca-ts.

 

[pdeaves]

Goodness me. It looks almost as though the two sculptures were positioned there on purpose to take account of the off-chance of trains falling onto them.

 

[LAX54]

Wow, it was lucky that in effect, the whale saved the train and driver from something much worse. (The livery at the top of the train, reminds me a bit of the old NSE colours and the red doors a bit like some TFL and other liveries).

I assume it is an ABELLIO train, as the colours (apart from the NSE copy at the top!) is the same as G.A

 

[Bletchleyite]

I assume it is an ABELLIO train, as the colours (apart from the NSE copy at the top!) is the same as G.A

No, it's operated by RET (which apparently stands for the Dutch for Rotterdam Electric Tramways). White with red doors and a black window band is pretty generic - TfW are as well.

 

[jopsuk]

I assume it is an ABELLIO train, as the colours (apart from the NSE copy at the top!) is the same as G.A

Entirely wrong! The Metro is run by Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET), owned by the City and Region of Rotterdam and entirely independent.of NS (who own Abellio)

 

[LAX54]

Entirely wrong! The Metro is run by Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET), owned by the City and Region of Rotterdam and entirely independent.of NS (who own Abellio)

I stand corrected I was just going by the colours ...as were a few others here (work) today

 

[Crossover]

The first thought I had was how fast it was going to get so far beyond the buffers! Lucky that no-one was walking by on the path below, looking at the debris on there.

Reports elsewhere suggest the driver was able to walk away from the incident, which is fortunate

 

[RPOMan]

“Whale sculpture catches crashed Dutch metro train”

Just wow! From the BBC news website, what a save by the whale sculpture. Luckily the driver escaped with minor injuries.

Whale sculpture catches crashed Dutch metro train

A metro train that crashed through a barrier near Rotterdam is left suspended thanks to a sculpture.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[GodAtum]

Wow, looks like it hit the bottom bit of the tail, then bounced up and over.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I'd leave the train there - it improves the sculpture...
Was it a leaf fall incident perhaps?
The de Akkers terminus is at the southern end of the Rotterdam metro system.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

This might be a daft question, but why is there a viaduct over water which apparently doesn't go anywhere? I assume that it's being used as a stabling point and that the stock was being put away for the night, but a viaduct seems a little elaborate for what seems to be nothing more than a siding.

 

[pdeaves]

This might be a daft question, but why is there a viaduct over water which apparently doesn't go anywhere? I assume that it's being used as a stabling point and that the stock was being put away for the night, but a viaduct seems a little elaborate for what seems to be nothing more than a siding.

I suppose one possibility is that the line used to continue. Alternatively, a raised level station could need equally raised level sidings that have to go somewhere. I don't know the area, though, so neither might be the reason.

 

[talltim]

A lot of the line is elevated, presumably to better thread through existing infrastructure. no point in going to ground level for the end of the line and taking up more space. There are a lot of bits of water in that area of Rotterdam, presumably it was left as a feature rather than filling it in and trying to find somewhere else for it to go. Also a use of 'dead' space

 

[bluenoxid]

Building the inevitable inclines to reach ground level would take up more space. The Netherlands are at a substantially lower level so any opportunities for water storage following rain fall events is probably taken.

 

[swt_passenger]

Should the Whale Accident Investigation Branch get involved...

 

[philthetube]

It sounds as if they need to look at protection at the end of lines. Pretty sure that nothing could get so far through a set of stops on the Underground.

It has happened in the past however.

 

[zuriblue]

Should the Whale Accident Investigation Branch get involved...

Possibly if there's a suggestion that the driver did it on porpoise.

 

[JonasB]

I suppose one possibility is that the line used to continue.

Or, to make a future extension of the line easier.

 

[Trackman]

It sounds as if they need to look at protection at the end of lines. Pretty sure that nothing could get so far through a set of stops on the Underground.

It has happened in the past however.

I've just seen it on the news.
Reminds me of the DLR Island Gardens incident in 1987, but no Whales to save it.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Or, to make a future extension of the line easier.

Looking at the site on Google Earth, there does appear to be a long unbuilt-on area in line with the dead end viaduct, as if an extension is envisaged at some point in the future.

 

[DanielB]

A lot of the line is elevated, presumably to better thread through existing infrastructure. no point in going to ground level for the end of the line and taking up more space. There are a lot of bits of water in that area of Rotterdam, presumably it was left as a feature rather than filling it in and trying to find somewhere else for it to go. Also a use of 'dead' space

The reason for the line being elevated is that De Akkers is the terminus of route C and D, which were built as a full metro line powered by third rail which is deemed not safe in combination with level crossings. Before ending up in Spijkenisse the line actually travels trough a tunnel under the Nieuwe Maas, but then climbs again onto a viaduct trough Spijkenisse.
The MG2/1 stock mainly used on these two routes also doesn't feature a pantograph, so it requires third rail for power.

Level crossings are only found at routes A and B of the Rotterdam metro system, which are ran with SG-stock only. These trains switch from third rail to pantograph when leaving the tunnel section trough the city center.

 

[gallafent]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this upthread, but I read in another news report of the same incident that the sculpture is called … wait for it … “Saved By The Whale's Tail”.

An excellent level of foresight.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Looking at the site on Google Earth, there does appear to be a long unbuilt-on area in line with the dead end viaduct, as if an extension is envisaged at some point in the future.

Looks to me like the extension of about 400m beyond de Akkers station contains a servicing area for the metro trains.
The whale art structure is no doubt to relieve the stark appearance of the abrupt end of the viaduct, but it was superbly placed to catch the train.
As you say there seems to be a corridor to extend the line through the immediate housing development, but the landscape beyond is pretty empty, as least for now.

 

[JonasB]

As you say there seems to be a corridor to extend the line through the immediate housing development, but the landscape beyond is pretty empty, as least for now.

The extension was just a guess from my point of view. But I took a look at the map and just a few kms across the field is Zuidland with 5.735 that could have use for a stop, and another 8 km is Hellevoetsluis, with a population of 40,000.

 

[DanielB]

The corridor beyond De Akkers station was indeed intentionally left unbuilt, this to allow an extension to Hellevoetsluis and Brielle. Especially Hellevoetsluis has a quite large commuter flow to Rotterdam (the town expanded rapidly in the 70s and 80s to house commuters working in Rotterdam and the harbour), with buses towards Spijkenisse running every 5 minutes during rush hour. The same applies to Brielle, which has up to 10 buses an hour towards Spijkenisse.

So there's actually a quite significant demand for public transport there, although currently there are no plans to extend the metro line. Instead a bus lane with grade separated intersections was built, allowing to also serve the intermediate villages frequently.

 

[Deepgreen]

I can't believe no-one has dared to say it, so...the driver was saved by a fluke!