The death of the chief conductor on Sunday evening in Hilversum leaves deep marks on NS staff. For the train driver, track 3 will remain in that location ‘forever a special place’. A place that is inextricably linked to his deceased colleague.
Shortly before the tragedy, the train driver of Intercity 1583 has ‘a gut feeling’ that something is wrong in the train. He therefore stops as soon as possible in Hilversum and goes to have a look. He hears screams, sees ‘pushing’. He therefore has brief contact with the Hengelo chief conductor who is involved in the disturbance. The driver still nods questioningly at him, to find out if everything is okay.
As reported yesterday, the 62-year-old chief conductor dies on the platform, after the disagreement with two Hilversum fare dodgers aged 15 and 16. According to the police, there was ‘some pushing and pulling’ between the boys and some conductors. “When the doors opened, one of the boys ran away. The other got into a brief struggle with one of the conductors. This conductor later became unwell and died,” said the police.
After the incident, the Twente resident sat down on a bench on the platform to recover, but his situation is deteriorating. CPR fails.
Boys arrested
The two boys have been arrested for ‘public assault’. The police are investigating whether there is a connection between the ‘pushing and pulling’ and the death of the chief conductor.
That there is a direct connection – it is emphasized – is ‘certainly not certain’. “But it is necessary to find out carefully,” said the police. Police are looking for travelers who witnessed the incident. The train driver, who partly witnessed the disagreement, also makes no statement about a connection. He had short contact with the Hengeloër after the incident.
A gut feeling
The driver had already stopped the train ‘as quickly as possible’ on track 3, because he sensed that something was wrong. “We all know it, the gut feeling!!!”. He writes down his emotions and feelings on Facebook. He wants to leave it at that. He doesn’t want to talk to the newspaper.
He describes how he had left Amsterdam with the intercity 1583 three minutes late, with ‘the idea that I will make up for that time’. The problems arise around Naarden/Bussum. The driver notices that there is no response from a conductor after a postage call. “After this a group call via the postage. Again no response. After this I made two calls to the chief conductor myself, to which I received no response. It remained silent.”
From my cabin it is clear that something is going on in the train
‘Something is wrong’
He doesn’t hesitate to stop his train as soon as possible to see what happens. “From my cab it was already clear that something was wrong, as I saw travelers looking into the train.” The train driver goes to look. “A lot of yelling and pushing while also trying to calm the travelers.”
At that moment he also sees his chief conductor. “I nod to him if everything is okay, no response.” Partly for this reason, the driver asks the ‘train chief’ whether he should have the signal revoked, to red. That happens so he can go back to help his colleagues. Things are going wrong fast.
last words
“I walk back and at that moment the conductor gets off the train, I can see from him that he is not doing well. I put him on the bench on the platform to relax for a while.” The man is feeling a bit short of breath, the driver sees. He asks: “Are you okay? He says: ‘yes, it’s going well’. They are the last words I hear.”
A fine person and gone too soon! Track 3 in Hilversum will always remain a special place for me
The train driver sees that the other chief conductor ‘has the situation well under control’. “So my gaze returns to the conductor on the bench. But unlike him, I see him turning white and gray… Despite all the help from everyone – police, fire brigade, ambulance and myself – he passed away.”
‘A nice person’
NS personnel were taken off the train in Hilversum and received there by the ‘on-call service’. The driver says that he receives a lot of support from the help of the NS and the many messages from colleagues. “Now it’s up to us to let everything sink in and to accept the help that the NS offers us.”
The driver indicates that this will take time. He says about the Hengeloër: “A nice, beautiful person and always a good colleague. Too young, gone too soon! Track 3 in Hilversum will always remain a special place for me.”
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
#Grief #sudden #death #chief #conductor #track #remain #special #place