De Akkers metro station crash

The most southwesterly station on the Rotterdam Metro, De Akkers was constructed in 1985. In 2002, two whale sculptures made of polyester, designed by architect Maarten Struijs and named Walvisstaarten (Dutch for Whale's tails) were installed at the end of the sidings beyond the station. After the crash, these sculptures have been referred to in some media with the name Saved by a Whale's Tail.[2]

Shortly after arriving at the station, the train, operated by RET, failed to stop at the end of the sidings in time and crashed through the buffer stop at the line's terminus, coming to a halt with the front of the train atop one of the two sculptures, with the rear of the car held up by the edge of the viaduct. No passengers were on the train at the time of the accident, and the driver was able to evacuate the train without injury, but was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.[3]

Following the accident, Struijs was interviewed about the sculptures, and reported that he was surprised the statue was able to hold the weight of the train,[4] and stated that "it does look rather poetic." He said the statue was never meant to be an extra safety measure for the trains.[5]

• 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