The question that remains two days after the fatal train accident in Voorschoten: how could a freight train collide with a construction crane? The answer remains guesswork for now. But whatever the cause, it cannot possibly be due to the safety rules, two experts say to NU.nl.
“Terrible. A human error has been made. It is almost inevitable,” says André van der Grift. He was director of Saferail for eleven years, which ensures safety during railway works.
When working on the track there are so many protocols and measures that Van der Grift rules out a technical error.
“We never work on a track where trains run,” he says. “That really never happens. A no-go.” Work on the track is requested months and sometimes years in advance. This is followed by numerous discussions and finally ProRail gives its approval.
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The overhead line will be de-energized prior to work. And to ensure that no train enters the track, a so-called lance is placed.
That is a kind of beam that is placed in the track. That bar makes the security systems ‘think’ it’s a train. As a result, the signals for the place where work is being done are on red. So double security.
Train dispatcher gives permission
When work starts, there is always contact with the train dispatcher. He knows which train runs where and which tracks are in use. The workplace security leader (LWB) is the only person who has that contact with the train traffic controller.
That LWB has undergone training. Van der Grift calls the person the “police officer in the workplace”. “He decides what will and will not happen.”
In Voorschoten not all tracks were taken out of service. At least two of the four tracks were in use: for the freight train and the intercity.
Trains next to work make it difficult
It is difficult if trains are still running alongside work on the track, says Van der Grift. “If the work is long-term or if the risks are greater, a fence will be placed between the work and the tracks where trains are still running. This way you can prevent an employee from accidentally stepping on the wrong track.” Whether that was the case in Voorschoten on Tuesday night, he does not know.
One possibility is that the crashed crane crossed the track where trains were running. Strict rules also apply to this, Van der Grift knows. “You can’t just cross the street. Everyone who works on the track knows that.”
Before crossing, contact the train traffic controller again. It knows where a train is running and can indicate how much time you have to cross. “There is always that consultation,” says the former director of Saferail.
Even when the work is finished, the train dispatcher will be called. Then the protocol is followed in reverse until the first step.
0:34Twenty years without an accident during railway works
According to Ben Ale, emeritus professor of Safety and Disaster Management, working on the track takes place under extremely safe conditions. “Before Tuesday, the last accident at rail works was in 2004. After that, they made the regulations even stricter.”
There have been accidents since then. “But not with work. It went well for twenty years.”
Van der Grift is convinced of the expertise of BAM employees. The construction company worked on the track on Tuesday. The deceased crane driver was an employee.
“In general, those men have been working there for a very long time. They know the region and they have known each other for decades. BAM has its affairs in order. And if you don’t have your affairs in order on the railway, there is an accident every week. “
