Amsterdam Westerpark train collision

On 21 April 2012 at 18:30 local time (16:30 UTC), two trains were involved in a head-on collision at Westerpark, near Sloterdijk, in the west of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Approximately 117 people were injured, one of whom later died in hospital. The collision is thought to have been caused by the driver of one of the trains passing a red signal.

In the early evening a local train (an NS Sprinter Lighttrain) had just left Amsterdam Centraal and collided with a double-decker NS VIRM Intercity train travelling in the opposite direction on the same track. While initial reports varied, 117 people were injured, 13 critically, 43 or 44 seriously, and dozens more had minor injuries. On 22 April 2012, a 68-year-old woman died from her injuries. There were sixteen people still in hospital. On 23 May 2012, the last injured person was discharged from hospital.

The trains involved were an NS Class 2600 electric multiple unit, number 2658, and an NS VIRM double-deck electric multiple unit, number 8711. Neither of the two trains derailed. Passengers were reported to have been thrown against walls, seats, windows, and other passengers. Just before the crash, witnesses said one of the trains let out an extended blast of its horn. The VIRM unit received moderate damage, with deformation at the rear of the first and front of the second carriage.

The collision occurred between Amsterdam Centraal and Amsterdam Sloterdijk stations, near Westerpark, suspending railway services between Amsterdam and The Hague as well as to Schiphol Airport on one of the busiest rail routes in the Netherlands. The local train was travelling between Amsterdam and Uitgeest whilst the Intercity train was travelling between Den Helder and Nijmegen. By Sunday afternoon, traffic was partially restored with a full service expected by that evening. The crash happened on a section of the line where trains operate at reduced speeds. It is estimated that at the moment of the collision the intercity was travelling at 25–30 km/h (16–19 mph) and the local train at about 20 km/h (12 mph). Bus services were relied upon on to get people to their destinations during the suspension.

Ik vrees dat ik een rood sein heb gemist.
I fear I missed a stopping signal.
– Driver of the SLT train.

A reporter from de Volkskrant travelled on board the SLT train, immediately behind the cab. He reported the driver of that train stated she feared that she had just missed a red signal.

Emergency services were swiftly on the scene. Many people were rescued from the train wreckage either by using cranes or by being placed in a protective wrap, with some carried out on stretchers. A trauma helicopter was used to take some of the people to a nearby hospital. Many of the injured were treated on a bridge nearby. Those that had only minor injuries were taken to an Amsterdam hotel. People were reported to have suffered broken bones, bruising and neck injuries.

Two separate investigations were carried out into whether the train collision was by human error or by a technical fault on one of the trains. By 22 April, the damaged trains had been towed away by locomotives allowing technicians to inspect the track for damage. The director of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Bert Meerstadt, said it was still too early to guess the actual cause of the incident and it was necessary to await the conclusions of the investigation. The Dutch Safety Board (DSB, in Dutch: Onderzoeksraad Voor Veiligheid, OVV) conducted one of the investigations, whilst the other was being conducted by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT). The data recorders were recovered from both trains.