Accident in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, builder BAM won the tender from the Dutch track-owner ProRail to grind the rails of the Dutch rail network. BAM uses for this the services (people and machines) from Speno. On 26 July 2010 a Speno Railgrinder train failed to stop at the end of a track in the Dutch city of Stavoren and the train drove straight through a shop, pushing an (empty) fuel-tank lorry along its way.
The shop was completely destroyed as was a roundabout behind the shop. The train stopped some 40 metres past the end of the track and the buffer stop. Initial investigation showed that the end of the track in this location was not marked with a light but only with some unlit signs. Also the (Dutch) train driver was a temporary worker and it might be that he did not know the local situation of the tracks.
Circumstances that might have contributed to the accident:
no (flashing) red lights on the buffer stop at the end of the line
no orange or red signals along the track, only some static signs that were unlit
the train driver might not have had the required local knowledge of the track layout
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the ATB automated security system in the Speno train was not compatible with the system used on the route.
The Dutch traffic safety board (IVW) banned BAM from using Speno trains until it could prove that it could operate them in a safe manner. As this ban resulted in the tracks not being ground anymore, the ban was lifted on 4 August 2010 as long as BAM took extra precautions to run the trains safely.
