De Akkers (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈʔɑkərs]) is the most southwestern subway station of the Rotterdam Metro and is located in the Dutch city of Spijkenisse. The station, with one island platform, opened on 25 April 1985 as a terminus of the North-South Line (also formerly called Erasmus line), nowadays line D. Since the extension of the East-West Line (Caland line) opened on 4 November 2002, the station also serves as terminus of that line. The station is named for the adjacent neighbourhood and is located on top of its shopping mall.
De Akkers  | |||||||||||||||
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| Rotterdam Metro station | |||||||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°50′0″N 4°19′11″E / 51.83333°N 4.31972°E | ||||||||||||||
| Owned by | RET | ||||||||||||||
| Platforms | Island platform | ||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1985 | ||||||||||||||
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Whale tail sculpture
editIn 2002, two whale sculptures, designed by architect Maarten Struijs and named Walvisstaarten (Dutch for Whale's tails) were installed at the end of the sidings beyond the station. The sculptures were made of reinforced polyester.[1][2]
Train crash
edit
Just after midnight on 2 November 2020, a train empty of passengers, operated by RET, on the Rotterdam Metro crashed through the buffer stop at the end of the sidings beyond the station. The sidings are built on a viaduct projecting out over the canal. The lead car of the train came to a partial rest on a 10-metre (33 ft) high whale sculpture erected in front of the sidings, preventing the train from falling over the edge and into the canal below.[3][4][5][1] Only the driver was on board when the crash happened and he freed himself without injury.[1][6] He was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.[7] Maarten Struijs, the sculptor who created the artwork, said he was surprised that the sculpture had held together.[1]
Following the crash, Struijs was interviewed about the sculptures, and reported that he was surprised the statue was able to hold the weight of the train,[8] and stated that "it does look rather poetic." He said the statue was never meant to be an extra safety measure for the trains.[9]
Since the crash, these sculptures have been referred to in some media with the name Saved by a Whale's Tail.[10]
See also
edit- O'Hare station train crash: A Chicago Transit Authority train operator fell asleep at the throttle and overshot the buffers at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport station
- Moorgate tube crash: A London Underground train overshot the buffers at Moorgate tube station
References
edit- ^ a b c d Boffey, Daniel (2 November 2020). "Whale sculpture stops Dutch train crashing into water". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Whale sculpture stops Dutch train plummeting off platform". TheJournal.ie. Press Association. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Sculpture of whale's tail saves train from plummeting 30 feet off railway platform". ABC News. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ Kwai, Isabella; Moses, Claire (2 November 2020). "Whale Sculpture Stops Train From Plunge in the Netherlands". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Rotterdam Metro Train Plows Through Stop Block, Dangles on Artwork". Storyful. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Whale sculpture saves train that ran off elevated railway". The Irish Times.
- ^ Petrány, Máté. "Out of Control Metro Train Comes to a Stop on 30-Foot-Tall Whale Tail Art Installation". The Drive. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Whale sculpture stops Dutch train crashing into water". the Guardian. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ Dutch news article, Algemeen Dagblad, 2 November 2020
- ^ "Saved by the whale: Runaway train caught by fateful sculpture". www.msn.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
External links
edit- Joey Bremer. Photographs on Twitter