Harmelen train disaster

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Harmelen train disaster
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 / 52.10472; 4.95639
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.