Halle train collision
| Date | 15 February 2010 |
|---|---|
| Time | 08:28 CET (07:28 GMT) |
| Location | Buizingen, Halle |
| Country | Belgium |
| Rail line | line 96 (Brussels–Mons) |
| Operator | NMBS/SNCB |
| Type of incident | Collision |
| Cause | Signal passed at danger |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 passenger trains |
| Passengers | 250–300 passengers |
| Deaths | 18 |
| Injuries | 162, of which 11 "very serious" |
| Damage | extensive damage to overhead wiring on line 96 |
The Halle train collision (also known as the Buizingen train collision) was a collision between two trains in Buizingen, in the municipality of Halle, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, on 15 February 2010. The death toll, 18, was the highest for a rail accident in Belgium for over fifty years.
The trains, carrying 250–300 people, collided in snowy conditions during the morning rush hour. The collision occurred about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from Brussels, on the Brussels–Mons line (line 96). According to a joint statement from the NMBS/SNCB (the Belgian national railway company) and Infrabel (the company responsible for Belgium's railway infrastructure), the trains appear to have collided "laterally" at a set of points at the exit of Halle station on the way to Brussels-North.
One of the trains involved was a long-distance service travelling from Quiévrain station to Liège-Guillemins station, which had just left Halle station heading north. The other train was a local service travelling from Leuven station to Braine-le-Comte station, which had just left Buizingen station heading south.
The collision resulted in the first two carriages of one train being forced upwards into the air over the first carriage of the second train. Eyewitnesses described the collision as "brutal", with passengers being thrown "violently" around the carriages. Train services were interrupted along the line where the collision happened.
A third train was traveling along a parallel line at the moment of the accident: it was not directly involved in the collision, and its driver managed to stop it without injuries to any of the passengers.
Initial reports of casualties were somewhat confused, with the mayor of Halle, Dirk Pieters, saying that at least 20 people had been killed in the crash and other sources quoting a death toll of 25. A more rigorous figure was provided by the government of the Province of Flemish Brabant on the afternoon of 15 February: a provisional death toll of 18 people (15 men and 3 women), based on bodies actually recovered from the wreckage. Rescuers discounted the possibility of finding more survivors still trapped in the two trains, and the search for bodies was interrupted at nightfall to resume the next morning. A report in 2014 suggested the final death toll was 19.
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