De Akkers metro station
 | It has been suggested that De Akkers metro station crash be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2020. |
De Akkers  | |||||||||||||||
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| Rotterdam Metro station | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 51°50′0″N 4°19′11″E / 51.83333°N 4.31972°ECoordinates: 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 | ||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||
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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.
Train accident[edit]
A few minutes after midnight on 2 November 2020, a metro train crashed through a buffer stop at the station and landed on a 10-metre-high (33 ft) artwork shaped like a whale tail.[1][2][3] Only the driver was on board when the accident happened and he freed himself without injury.[3][4] Maarten Struijs, the sculptor who created the artwork, said he was surprised that the sculpture had held together.[3]
The sculpture was erected by the station in 2002 and is made of reinforced polyester.[3][5]
References[edit]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 saves train that ran off elevated railway". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Whale sculpture stops Dutch train plummeting off platform". TheJournal.ie. Press Association. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.