Infrabel: “Accident with train and bus could have been avoided” (Zedelgem)

The accident in Veldegem (Zedelgem), in which an oncoming train rammed a bus that was broken down on a level crossing on Tuesday morning, could have been avoided. This is what railway manager Infrabel reports.

Two weeks ago, Infrabel set up a national awareness campaign around 1711, the free emergency number that you can call in the event of an emergency at a level crossing. “The bus stood still on the tracks for about four minutes before it was hit by the train,” said spokesman Thomas Baeken. “There was actually enough time to call the number and then this accident might have been avoided.”

LOOK AT. Images show how a train crashes at full speed into a bus that has come to a standstill on the tracks

Thanks to an alert response from the bus driver, all occupants, around twenty children, were removed from the scheduled bus in time. Two people were slightly injured on the train. The material damage is greater. The bus was completely destroyed and repairs are also needed to the railway infrastructure. There will probably be no train traffic between Lichtervelde and Bruges until Monday. “That is at least an initial, cautious prognosis, because the research is still in full swing,” says Baeken.

“There was actually enough time to call the number and then this accident might have been avoided”

Thomas Baeken

Infrabel

“Only once the train has been towed away will we get a better picture. At the moment it appears that there is damage to the sleepers and tracks and an overhead line has also been hit. We will use the weekend to carry out the necessary repairs. We are fortunate that the electricity cabin at the level crossing was not affected, otherwise this would have been a different story and the disruption could have lasted much longer.”