Two train carriages with around 30 passengers on board rolled out of the station at Mechelen in Antwerp Province. The incident happened of the carriages had been uncoupled. The passengers that were aboard the carriages were evacuated. No one was injured in the incident that happened at the end of Friday morning’s rush hour.
Train carriages with around 30 passengers on board rolled out of Mechelen station without a driver
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The Belgian rail company NMBS’ spokesman Bart Crols told VRT News that "At around 9:30 a.m., during the uncoupling of two sections of a train, one of the two sections started moving on its own and came to a halt outside Mechelen station. All the relevant safety measures were taken straight away, and rail traffic was halted. The 30 or so passengers were evacuated at the place where the train came to a halt just outside the station. None of them were harmed."
Rail services on the line between Mechelen and Leuven (Flemish Brabant) were suspended until almost 1pm. It is still unclear why the carriages started moving nor what brought them to a halt.
Reports on social media claims that a cool-headed passenger pulled the emergency brake when he realised what was happening. However, Mr Crols is unable to confirm this yet. "The precise circumstances are currently being investigated and I won’t make any further comment for the time being”