A sculpture of two huge whales diving into a pool of water did double duty Monday as it kept a Rotterdam metro train from crashing to the ground, or water, after it over-ran the end of the line in the suburb of Spijkenisse.
Fortunately, no passengers were aboard, and the train operator was checked out at a local hospital and released. It is unclear how the train passed the automatic end blocks, and also how to remove the train. There is concern the sculpture will not hold it for long, and its position above water makes getting a crane in place tricky.
Ironically, the 2002 sculpture by Maarten Struijs is officially called “Saved by the Whale’s Tail.” Struijs, who used mostly plastic in the structure, was surprised it was able to hold the train; he told broadcaster NOS “It has been there for almost 20 years. You actually expect the plastic to disintegrate a bit, but that apparently is not the case.”
