Several hundred train passengers were stuck on a Eurocity Direct service that broke down in Loenhout (Antwerp Province) on the Dutch border. The train that was on its way to the Netherlands broke down around 9AM. Air conditioning soon failed. The emergency services attended the scene to hand out water. Shortly before noon, passengers were able to switch to an evacuation train and continue their journey.
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300 passengers stranded on Eurocity train on Dutch border for hours
Colin Clapson
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‘I caught the train in Antwerp at 8.35am. We were soon informed that all the toilets were out of order. Fifteen minutes later, we came to a halt in Loenhout. We have been standing there for over two and a half hours now,’ passenger Pieter Dejonghe told VRT. ‘There are families with small children on board.’
Just under an hour after the breakdown, the air conditioning also stopped blowing cold air. ‘It was really sweltering,’ says Dejonghe. ‘The doors were kept closed until the emergency services were on site together with rail security personnel. Then we were also given water and the temperature improved.'
‘Our staff were quickly on the spot, extra staff on standby in this heat,’ explained Belgian rail spokesman Dimitri Temmerman.
According to the railways, the cause of the breakdown was a technical problem on the train. ‘I happened to hear the driver,’ adds passenger Dejonghe. ‘Apparently these new Eurocity trains are still struggling with teething problems and something regularly goes wrong.’
Evacuation train
Shortly before noon, an evacuation train arrived at the scene on the track next to the broken-down train. It is taking passengers to the Netherlands.
‘Switching train isn’t easy,’ Dejonghe notes. ‘There are people who have to clamber over the tracks with bikes and suitcases to reach the other train.’