A freight train has derailed in the Europoort area of the Rotterdam port after a collision with a truck during the afternoon of Sunday 26 July. Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident. It left significant damage to the infrastructure, however.
As a consequence of the derailment, the P&O Ferries freight terminal is now inaccessible via rail. The track infrastructure leading to the facility is damaged. It is unknown when the Dutch rail infrastructure manager ProRail will reinstate the line. ProRail also does not yet know what caused the collision between train and truck, but specifies that the crossing was protected by a Half-Automatic Traffic Light Installation at Crossings (HAVIO) system.
“The collision has caused widespread damage on and around the railway line”, the infrastructure manager says. “ProRail is working with the emergency services and other relevant parties to deal with the incident safely and to make preparations for the repair of the infrastructure.”
The derailment occurred at the entrance to the P&O Ferries terminal, which means that the impact on further port rail logistics is limited. The port railway branches off to the Maasvlakte area a couple of hundred metres ahead of the derailment site.
