Thirteen buses burned out in Utrecht, bus transport in the city seriously disrupted

NOS News•today, 07:12•Amended today, 09:05

Thirteen buses were lost due to a fire early this morning in a bus shed in Utrecht, says carrier U-OV. Bus transport in and around the city was seriously disrupted.

U-OV expects the timetable to be fully restarted in the course of the morning. It is being examined whether buses from elsewhere can be used. According to the carrier, the long-term consequences are not yet precisely known.

Many buses could no longer be saved:

Buses burnt out in Utrecht bus shed

The first report of the fire came in around 4:50 a.m. After just under two hours, the signal for fire was mastered. The parking facility is located in Westraven, on the south side of the A12. A highway exit was closed due to the fire.

“The buses were parked quite close to each other,” says a spokesperson for the security region. “When it gets warm, it goes very fast. The wind also made it difficult to extinguish, because it blows the water away from the flames.”

The bus shed was officially opened in 2021. Nothing is yet known about the cause of the fire. There are no injuries.