Station evacuated and over 100 trains canceled due to electric hand dryer

The ordinary failure of an electric hand dryer led to the evacuation of an important train station, resulting in the cancellation and delay of hundreds of trains. At Brussels Central Station, one of Belgium’s busiest stations, the fire alarm went off when smoke spread around platforms 5 and 6. The fumes were coming from the electric hand dryer in the public bathroom, which had shorted out due to a malfunction.

The authorities, who did not know the reasons for the alarm, reacted without taking half measures. “Brussels Central Station has been evacuated for safety reasons,” Belgian national railway company Dimitri Temmerman told the daily Bruzz. “At adjacent stations in Brussels, all trains have been temporarily stopped or diverted to other routes where possible,” the spokesperson said. Because of this, traffic was also disrupted at two other train stations in Brussels, and trains in the Belgian capital were paralyzed.

According to the newspaper Bulletinled to the complete cancellation or delay of 113 trains. In total, about 630 trains were affected, and evacuation was delayed by more than 8,600 minutes. Rail traffic was allowed to resume after an inspection by the fire brigade, but delays continued for several hours.

Brussels Central Station is a major hub for rail traffic in Belgium, with trains passing through six platforms at the rate of one vehicle per platform every three minutes during rush hour. Therefore, the slightest delay in one section creates a domino effect on other services.

Source: Today IT

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