Due to the faulty train, no train traffic was possible between Gouda and Zoetermeer East.
The intercity from The Hague to Enschede stopped for several hours at Moordrecht. The train set 4057, which departed in the middle of rush hour, had about a thousand passengers. Travelers on that train reported on social media that there was no light and heating and that the toilets were clogged. After roughly three and a half hours of standing still, the evacuation started, according to the NS.
A spokesman for the NS spoke of exceptional circumstances that are extremely annoying. Due to a technical defect, the train came to a stop on a so-called 'fly-over', a crossing of tracks that made it difficult to evacuate passengers. At first an attempt was made to tow the train away, but this was not possible due to another technical defect. Due to the faulty train, no train traffic was possible between Gouda and Zoetermeer East.
The train came to a halt due to a problem with the air pressure system. The NS then tried to tow the train away with a tug train, but that attempt failed. Meanwhile, the lights went out on the train and the toilets became clogged.
The search for alternatives took a lot of time, according to the spokesperson. Buses ran between Gouda, Lansingerland-Zoetermeer, Zoetermeer East and Zoetermeer. Nevertheless, some travelers were able to provide information via social media. "We make the best of it in the stranded train left at 17.55 pm from The Hague to Gouda.", tweeted Paula Zimmermann. There was great dissatisfaction about the poor communication from the Dutch Railways (NS) among many travelers and that is perhaps a point for attention on the agenda of NS and ProRail incident management.
