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Harmelen train disaster | |
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![]() Aftermath of the disaster | |
Details | |
Date | 8 January 1962 |
Location | Harmelen, Utrecht |
Coordinates | 52°06′17″N 4°57′23″E / 52.10472°N 4.95639°E |
Country | Netherlands |
Operator | Nederlandse Spoorwegen |
Incident type | Head-on collision |
Cause | Signal passed at danger |
Statistics | |
Trains | 2 |
Passengers | ~1080 |
Deaths | 93 |
The Harmelen train disaster, on 8 January 1962, was the worst railway accident in the history of the Netherlands. Harmelen, in the central Netherlands, is the location of a railway junction where a branch to Amsterdam leaves the Rotterdam to Utrecht line. It is common at high-speed junctions to avoid the use of diamond crossings wherever possible—instead, a ladder crossing is employed where trains destined for the branch line cross over to the track normally employed for trains travelling in the opposite direction for a short distance before taking the branch line.
The accident happened 18 months after the Woerden train accident, the derailment of a British furlough train nearby. Previously, the Weesp train disaster of 1918 had been the worst railway disaster in the Netherlands.