De Akkers metro station
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.
Rotterdam Metro station | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 51°50′0″N 4°19′11″E | ||||||||||||||
Owned by | RET | ||||||||||||||
Platforms | Island platform | ||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||
Opened | 1985 | ||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||
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Train accident
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
- 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.
- 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.