Train traffic between Almere Oostvaarders and Lelystad Center was disrupted for hours on Saturday by a pack of escaped deer. The fifteen animals from the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve had broken through a fence and run onto the track. Because it involved such a large group, the Dutch Railways halted train traffic.
A spokesman for the NS says that the incident is “very unique”. “We often see animals walking on the track, but so much has never happened before.” Train traffic resumed after about three hours.
The deer broke the fence themselves, says a spokesperson for Staatsbosbeheer. They probably did that by rubbing against it. Another possibility is that an animal got stuck with its antlers and then pulled over the fence.
According to him, the deer also returned on their own initiative, via so-called indentation spots. These are elevations on the outside of the fence that animals can use to jump back into the nature reserve. Rangers have seen seven deer jump across and believe the others followed suit.
“We have followed the trail and they have not been seen again,” says the spokesperson for Staatsbosbeheer. “This is the first time I’ve experienced this.”
It is not the first time that animals have caused a nuisance on the railways for the Dutch Railways. In March, no trains ran between Den Bosch and Boxtel for more than a week because badgers had dug their burrows in the railway embankment, which could cause it to subside.
In Friesland, train traffic between Workum and Stavoren has been at a standstill since March 13, also because of badgers. And in 2011, a stork near Zwartsluis caused a major power failure that also affected train traffic.
