The
Harmelen train disaster was the worst railway accident in the history of the
Netherlands on 8 January 1962.
Harmelen, in the central Netherlands, is the location of a railway junction where a branch to
Amsterdam leaves the
Rotterdam to
Utrecht line. It is common at high-speed junctions to avoid the use of
diamond crossings wherever possible — instead a ladder crossing is employed where trains destined for the branch line cross over to the track normally employed for trains travelling in the opposite direction for a short distance before taking the branch line.