Halle train collision

The Halle train collision (also known as the Buizingen train collision) was a collision between two NMBS/SNCB passenger trains carrying a combined 250 to 300 people in Buizingen, in the municipality of Halle, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, on 15 February 2010. The crash occurred in snowy conditions at 08:28 CET (07:28 UTC), during rush hour, on railway line 96 (Brussels–Quévy) about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Brussels between P-train E3678 from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte (a local rush hour train) and IC-train E1707 from Quiévrain to Liège (an intercity train). A third train was able to come to a stop just in time. The collision killed 19 people and injured 171, making it the deadliest rail crash in Belgium in over fifty years.

Three investigations were held in the aftermath of the crash: a parliamentary investigation to review railway safety, a safety investigation for the purpose of preventing future crashes, and a judicial investigation into whether any laws were broken. The cause of the crash was determined to be a human error by the driver of the train from Leuven, who passed a red signal without authorization. This was contested by the train driver, despite the confirmations of the safety and judicial investigations. Another contributing factor was the absence of TBL 1+ on the train that passed the red signal. If TBL 1+ had been installed the crash may have been avoided. Because of multiple difficulties the judicial investigation lasted for years, causing the train driver, the NMBS/SNCB, and Infrabel (the infrastructure operator) to be summoned to court only in June 2018.

The disaster led to the accelerated rollout of TBL 1+ on the entire Belgian railway network. The last NMBS/SNCB train was fitted with the system in November 2016.

The train from Leuven, an AM70 Class Classical EMU, was running south on schedule to Braine-le-Comte in the normal (left-handed) direction on its track. It passed a double yellow signal at 08:16 about 500 m (550 yd) ahead of Buizingen station (the next stop). A double yellow means the train must slow down to be able to stop should the next signal be red. The driver must manually confirm the double yellow signal otherwise the train brakes automatically. The next signal was a few hundred meters beyond Buizingen station. At 08:26 the train stopped in Buizingen, and at 08:27 it left the station for its next stop, Halle. The train passed the signal beyond Buizingen station at a speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) whilst accelerating. It was established later that the signal had been red and the train should not have passed it.

The train from Quiévrain, an AM54 Class Classical EMU, was running north in the normal direction on its track, ten minutes behind schedule. After Halle station it passed a yellow-green vertical signal and slowed to 80 km/h (50 mph). A yellow-green vertical signal means the next signal will be double yellow, but there won't be enough distance between the double yellow and the (potentially red) signal after it to come to a full stop. The train therefore needs to start braking before encountering the double yellow. The train had slowed to 40 km/h (25 mph) when it passed the double yellow. At 08:26 the signaller in the Brussels-South signal control center directed the train from line 96 to line 96N, causing it to cross the path of the train from Leuven and automatically change the signal in front of the first switch to green. The train accelerated past the green signal at 08:27 at about 70 km/h (45 mph).

Seeing the Quiévrain train crossing his path, the driver of the Leuven train applied the horn and emergency brakes but could not avoid the collision. He leapt from the cab moments before impact and was found sobbing at the side of the tracks with serious injuries. The train from Leuven hit the side of the train from Quiévrain at 08:28. The first three carriages of both trains were severely damaged, being crushed or flipped on their sides. The second carriage of the Leuven train was forced upwards into the air over the third carriage. Eyewitnesses described the collision as brutal with passengers being thrown violently around the carriages, and referring to dead bodies lying next to the tracks.

The driver of a third train, train E1557 from Geraardsbergen to Brussels-South coming from Halle and running parallel to the other trains, saw the crash happen and applied emergency braking. The train came to a full stop at 08:29, just short of hitting the wreckage and without injury to any of its passengers.

The driver of the third (non-involved) train immediately reported the crash to Infrabel Traffic Control, who alerted the provincial emergency control center of Flemish Brabant and activated emergency procedures halting all train traffic in the area. At 08:32 the emergency control center initiated its medical intervention plan for a mass-casualty incident. The first emergency crews arrived within minutes from the nearby Halle fire station. Police, fire, and emergency medical services were involved in the rescue operations alongside the Red Cross and Civil Protection. The provincial governor Lodewijk De Witte was informed of the crash at 08:39 and the provincial phase of emergency management was initiated at 09:15.