A major exercise will take place on and in the immediate vicinity of Utrecht Central Station on Thursday 8 June 2023. The Explosieven Opruimingsdienst Defensie (EOD), together with NS, ProRail, police, Veiligheidsregio Utrecht, Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecutor's Office) and the municipality of Utrecht, will practise their deployment in the event of a large-scale incident, the reception of victims and communication about this with travellers, passers-by and residents of the municipality using various scenarios.
Much of the exercise takes place at the organisations involved themselves. Some parts of the exercise take place at locations in and around the station and are then limited visible to the public. Travellers, passers-by and local residents will be informed about this before and during the exercise. The exercise will start at 12 noon and continue until about 5pm. Passengers on tracks 1 to 4 should note that the lift and escalator to these platforms will not be accessible. However, the platforms can be reached by stairs from the concourse and vice versa. From the large bicycle shed under the bulb roof, travellers cannot access the platforms via the middle tunnel, and vice versa. During the exercise, the various participants train operational cooperation in crisis situations. The exercise in the station area is part of the multidisciplinary exercise 'Explosive Lion', which will take place throughout the Netherlands from 6 to 8 June 2023 under the leadership of the Explosives Clearing Service. During this series of exercises, a large-scale of EOD deployment will take place. There is no increased threat, the emergency services and other parties involved will practise their cooperation, and inconvenience to travellers, passers-by, local residents and businesses will be kept to a minimum.
A major exercise will take place on and in the immediate vicinity of Utrecht Central Station on Thursday 8 June 2023. The Explosieven Opruimingsdienst Defensie (EOD), together with NS, ProRail, police, Veiligheidsregio Utrecht, Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecutor's Office) and the municipality of Utrecht, will practise their deployment in the event of a large-scale incident, the reception of victims and communication about this with travellers, passers-by and residents of the municipality using various scenarios.
An earlier disaster drill at Utrecht Central Station in 2006. © Marnix Schmidt Photography
