On Tuesday I woke up to the news of a deadly train crash in the town where I grew up in the Netherlands. One person died and another nineteen ended up in the hospital after a freight train and a passenger train collided with construction equipment.
It is an odd experience seeing your childhood hometown all over the news. Despite living 3,628 miles away, it felt close by. The crash site was across the street from where I had a summer job many moons ago. In fact, in a few days, the 10-year-old and I have a trip scheduled to the Netherlands that includes a dinner with friends a few blocks from it.
Train accidents are, fortunately, quite rare.
This week’s incident was the first in several years. Even in the US, which covers a lot more territory, there are around 60 train collisions every year compared to well over 500 derailments. (The US Department of Transportation provides some fascinatingly detailed data that goes back decades here.) More so, it seems to be getting safer. Over the last …
