Michiel wrote: ↑06 Apr 2023, 05:34
The crash was at an access point for road/rail vehicles, so option 3 is that the crane was finished with the maintenance and due to some mistake crossed the tracks to reach the access road before traffic was stopped here.
Yes, after looking at an aireal view of the crash site (
https://images0.persgroep.net/rcs/xFdb_ ... uality=0.9), that seems to be a very good option.
1: The crane was done with it's task on the 3rd or 4th track from the left on the photo above, changed from rail to road mode, and used the service crossing to get to the acces road.
2: The freight train, traveling northbound on the second track from the left, hit the crane which was crossing the tracks.
3: Remains on the crane landed on the first track from the left.
4: The passenger train, traveling southbound, hit those remains.
5: The front carriage was pushed out of the track to its right (left on the photo's view), and due to its speed (and possibly the motors in the last carriage still pushing from behind, and/or the momentum of the 3 carriages behind the first one also still traveling at speed) it crossed the acces road and the water and ended up in the field at a 90-degree angle.
6: The 2nd carriage was pulled out of the track by the first with its front bogie. The violent movements of the front carriage caused the coupler to break, seperating the two carriages. The rear bogie tries to stay on the track.
7: The front of the 3rd carriage, still connected to the 2nd one, is now pushed out of it's track by the rotation (relative to the track) of the 2nd carriage.
8: The last carriage stays on the track. As the 3rd carriage (carrying the pantograph; the one at the front of the 3rd carriage was used, as can be seen on other pictures) derailed and the overhead wires have been destroyed due to the derailing train hitting the gantry's, the last carriage's motors are not providing traction anymore. And the derailing also probably broke the pneumatic connections between carriages, causing a loss of pneumatic pressure, which caused the brakes on all axles to apply fully. That is to say; if the driver didn't already give an emergency brake command as soon as he noticed something on the tracks as he was approaching at speed moments before...