Rail traffic was interrupted this Thursday morning, shortly after 8 a.m., on line 94 between Enghien and Ath, after a car hit the back of a train at the Chaussée d’Enghien level crossing, in Herne (a locality in Flemish Brabant located at the exit of Enghien), specified Infrabel. The permanent staff of the rail network manager and the police intervened on the spot.
Recklessness involved
The images from the technical camera installed on the level crossing very clearly show that the collision was linked to carelessness on the part of the motorist.
“The level crossing gates were closed and the train was passing. For some reason that we do not know (Editor’s note: the police are investigating), the driver crossed the infrastructure without the barriers giving way. This is when the vehicle crashed into the rear of the train“, explains Jessica Nibelle, spokesperson for the manager Infrabel.
According to our information collected on the spot, the vehicle equipped with an automatic gearbox, which was heading towards Enghien, would have stopped at the level crossing but the user, by distraction, would have engaged the wrong gear. The car would therefore have continued to move slowly until it crashed into the rear of the train.
Alone in his cabin, the motorist came out unscathed, which is a small miracle. The carcass of his vehicle, stuck on the tracks, was evacuated around 10:20 a.m. and traffic was able to resume shortly after 11 a.m.
A level crossing that has already experienced many accidents
For commuters “trapped” in the hit train as well as for travelers whose trains had been cancelled, SNCB has set up a bus shuttle service between Enghien and Ath.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that this level crossing has been the scene of more or less serious accidents.
“On January 18, 2021, a serious accident took place on this same level crossing. A car with three young people on board had slalomed between the closed barriers. The vehicle had been hit by a train, causing the death of the three occupants. Since 2009, we have also recorded 6 collisions with barriers by a vehicle “, specifies Jessica Nibelle.