Halle train collision
Encyclopedia
The Halle train collision (also known as the Buizingen train collision) was a collision
between two trains in Buizingen
, in the Belgian
municipality
of Halle
, Flemish Brabant
, on 15 February 2010. It was Belgium's worst rail disaster in over fifty years.
–Mons
line (line 96). According to a joint statement from the SNCB (the Belgian national railway company) and Infrabel
(the company responsible for Belgium's railway infrastructure), the trains appear to have collided "laterally" at a set of points
at the exit of Halle station on the way to .
One of the trains involved was a long-distance service travelling from to Liège
, which had just left Halle station heading north. The other train was a local service travelling from to , which had just left Buizingen station heading south.
The collision resulted in the first two carriages of one train being forced upwards into the air over the first carriage of the second train. Eyewitnesses described the collision as "brutal", with passengers being thrown "violently" around the carriages. Train services were interrupted along the line where the collision happened.
A third train was traveling along a parallel line at the moment of the accident: it was not directly involved in the collision, and its driver managed to stop it without injuries to any of the passengers.
on the afternoon of 15 February: a provisional death toll of 18 people (15 men and 3 women), based on bodies actually recovered from the wreckage. Rescuers discounted the possibility of finding more survivors still trapped in the two trains, and the search for bodies was interrupted at nightfall to resume the next morning.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor's office has said that twenty people were seriously injured in the collision. The Governor of Flemish Brabant
, Lodewijk De Witte
, said that 162 people had been injured: of those, 55 people had been hospitalized, and 11 were in a "very serious" condition.
The Brussels Royal Prosecutor, Bruno Bulthé, announced the appointment of an investigating magistrate, Jeroen Burm, to oversee the judicial enquiry.
A second train passed through the same signal at danger on 11 March, and it again failed inexplicably on the morning of 15 March.
, especially on the Brussels
–Mons
and Brussels–Tournai
lines. Rail traffic was suspended between Brussels-South and Halle
and between Halle and Etterbeek
(line 26, a major freight line). Severe disruption to train services was expected throughout much of Wallonia (southern Belgium). It was expected to take two or three days to clear the wreckage, because of the investigation into the accident, and another three days to repair the damage to the lines and overhead cables.
Further disruption was caused on 16 February when rail workers in southern Belgium staged an unofficial strike
in protest at what they described as a deterioration in their working conditions. No trains at all were running out of Mons or Tournai, while between a third and a half of trains from Namur
and Charleroi
to Brussels were cancelled.
The lines at Buizingen are also used by high-speed trains running between Brussels and the French border. All such services between Brussels, France and the UK were immediately suspended, and remained suspended through Tuesday 16 February. Thalys
, an international high-speed train operator built around the high-speed service between Paris
and Brussels, had to divert four of its trains in the region at the time of the accident to alternative stations: it cancelled all its services, including those to Amsterdam
and Cologne
. A limited Thalys service between Brussels and Paris resumed on the evening of 16 February, with trains out of Brussels passing on the single usable line at Buizingen while trains from Paris are diverted via Ghent
. Thalys services between Brussels and Cologne resumed 17 February. Other TGV
services from France to Brussels terminate at Lille-Flandres, just before the Belgian border and the last station before Brussels-South that can accommodate high-speed trains in normal service.
Eurostar
, which operates services through the Channel Tunnel
, cancelled all its services to and from Brussels, but continued to operate its services between London
and Paris and between London and Lille
, the latter with delays. A skeleton service of three Eurostar trains a day in each direction between London and Brussels was resumed on 22 February. The trains were diverted via Ghent, causing the journey time to be lengthened by about 50 minutes. The full timetabled service was planned to resume on 1 March 2010.
Collision
A collision is an isolated event which two or more moving bodies exert forces on each other for a relatively short time.Although the most common colloquial use of the word "collision" refers to accidents in which two or more objects collide, the scientific use of the word "collision" implies...
between two trains in Buizingen
Buizingen
Buizingen is a village in the municipality of Halle, Belgium. It is around 15 km southwest of the centre of Brussels.In February 2010, 18 people died in a train collision in Buizingen....
, in the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
municipality
Municipalities of Belgium
Belgium comprises 589 municipalities grouped into five provinces in each of two regions and into a third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, comprising 19 municipalities that do not belong to a province...
of Halle
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
, Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
, on 15 February 2010. It was Belgium's worst rail disaster in over fifty years.
Collision
The trains, carrying 250–300 people, collided in snowy conditions during the morning rush hour. The collision occurred about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the Belgian capital, on the BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
–Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
line (line 96). According to a joint statement from the SNCB (the Belgian national railway company) and Infrabel
Infrabel
Infrabel is a Belgian government-owned public limited company. It was created on 1 January 2005 from the split of the once unitary SNCB/NMBS. It builds, maintains and upgrades the Belgian railway network, makes its capacity available to railway companies, and handles the train traffic control. ...
(the company responsible for Belgium's railway infrastructure), the trains appear to have collided "laterally" at a set of points
Railroad switch
A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
at the exit of Halle station on the way to .
One of the trains involved was a long-distance service travelling from to Liège
Liège-Guillemins railway station
Liège-Guillemins train station is the main station of the city of Liège, the third biggest city in Belgium. It is one of the most important hubs in the country and is one of the 3 Belgian stations on the high-speed rail network...
, which had just left Halle station heading north. The other train was a local service travelling from to , which had just left Buizingen station heading south.
The collision resulted in the first two carriages of one train being forced upwards into the air over the first carriage of the second train. Eyewitnesses described the collision as "brutal", with passengers being thrown "violently" around the carriages. Train services were interrupted along the line where the collision happened.
A third train was traveling along a parallel line at the moment of the accident: it was not directly involved in the collision, and its driver managed to stop it without injuries to any of the passengers.
Casualties
Initial reports of casualties were somewhat confused, with the mayor of Halle, Dirk Pieters, saying that at least 20 people had been killed in the crash and other sources quoting a death toll of 25. A more rigorous figure was provided by the government of the Province of Flemish BrabantFlemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
on the afternoon of 15 February: a provisional death toll of 18 people (15 men and 3 women), based on bodies actually recovered from the wreckage. Rescuers discounted the possibility of finding more survivors still trapped in the two trains, and the search for bodies was interrupted at nightfall to resume the next morning.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor's office has said that twenty people were seriously injured in the collision. The Governor of Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
, Lodewijk De Witte
Lodewijk De Witte
Lodewijk De Witte is the governor of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant.After his studies at the law school of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, he remained active as a researcher and became specialised in issues concerning labour law , which was assigned to him by the European Economic...
, said that 162 people had been injured: of those, 55 people had been hospitalized, and 11 were in a "very serious" condition.
Investigation
Initial reports suggest that the Leuven–Braine-le-Comte train was on the wrong line, for unknown reasons. During a press conference, Governor De Witte suggested that the train coming from Leuven had ignored a red signal light and thereby caused the accident. The director-general of the SNCB, Marc Descheemaecker, replied that it was "too early to confirm a hypothesis" and that "[we] will have to carry out a neutral enquiry", but admitted that de Witte's comments were "not unbelievable". Another possibility was raised by the French-language daily Le Soir, who cited a "well informed source" suggesting that a fault in the electricity supply could have caused a signal failure, and hence be behind the accident. The driver of the train survived and will be questioned later by the police.The Brussels Royal Prosecutor, Bruno Bulthé, announced the appointment of an investigating magistrate, Jeroen Burm, to oversee the judicial enquiry.
A second train passed through the same signal at danger on 11 March, and it again failed inexplicably on the morning of 15 March.
Damage and service disruption
The crash caused "major damage" to the overhead contact systemOverhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
, especially on the Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
–Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
and Brussels–Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
lines. Rail traffic was suspended between Brussels-South and Halle
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
and between Halle and Etterbeek
Etterbeek
Etterbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It neighbours the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek....
(line 26, a major freight line). Severe disruption to train services was expected throughout much of Wallonia (southern Belgium). It was expected to take two or three days to clear the wreckage, because of the investigation into the accident, and another three days to repair the damage to the lines and overhead cables.
Further disruption was caused on 16 February when rail workers in southern Belgium staged an unofficial strike
Wildcat strike action
A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action taken by workers without the authorization of their trade union officials. This is sometimes termed unofficial industrial action...
in protest at what they described as a deterioration in their working conditions. No trains at all were running out of Mons or Tournai, while between a third and a half of trains from Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
and Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
to Brussels were cancelled.
The lines at Buizingen are also used by high-speed trains running between Brussels and the French border. All such services between Brussels, France and the UK were immediately suspended, and remained suspended through Tuesday 16 February. Thalys
Thalys
Thalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
, an international high-speed train operator built around the high-speed service between Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Brussels, had to divert four of its trains in the region at the time of the accident to alternative stations: it cancelled all its services, including those to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. A limited Thalys service between Brussels and Paris resumed on the evening of 16 February, with trains out of Brussels passing on the single usable line at Buizingen while trains from Paris are diverted via Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. Thalys services between Brussels and Cologne resumed 17 February. Other TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
services from France to Brussels terminate at Lille-Flandres, just before the Belgian border and the last station before Brussels-South that can accommodate high-speed trains in normal service.
Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
, which operates services through the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, cancelled all its services to and from Brussels, but continued to operate its services between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris and between London and Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, the latter with delays. A skeleton service of three Eurostar trains a day in each direction between London and Brussels was resumed on 22 February. The trains were diverted via Ghent, causing the journey time to be lengthened by about 50 minutes. The full timetabled service was planned to resume on 1 March 2010.
See also
- List of rail accidents (2010–2019)
- Winter of 2009–2010 in EuropeWinter of 2009–2010 in EuropeThe winter of 2009–2010 in Europe was unusually cold. Globally, atypical weather patterns brought cold, moist air from the north. Weather systems were undergoing cyclogenesis from North American storms moving across the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and saw many parts of Europe experiencing heavy...
- Pécrot rail crashPécrot rail crashThe Pécrot rail crash was a rail accident in the village of Pécrot , Belgium, that occurred on 27 March 2001 when two passenger trains collided head-on...