Location Winsum, Groningen Type of incident Head-on-collision Trains 2 Injuries 21 | Country Netherlands Date 25 July 1980 Total number of deaths 9 Operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen | |
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Rail line Sauwerd–Roodeschool railway | ||
The Winsum train disaster took place on 25 July 1980 near Winsum in the Dutch province of Groningen. 9 people died and 21 were injured.
The accident took place on a single track between Sauwerd and Roodeschool which did not have ATB or signals, instead the drivers were informed by radio where other trains on the tracks were, which was a less reliable system that relied on trust.
In the early foggy morning of 25 July the driver of commuter train 8726 departed from Winsum railway station. Because of the fog he could not see the other train (8713) coming from Sauwerd, which the traffic controllers had warned him about and they told him to wait departing from Winsum until it had passed. Both trains collide head on.
The true cause of the disaster never became clear.