A collision has taken place between a bus and a passenger train at a level crossing in the West Flemish village of Zedelgem The bus that had broken down on the level crossing was dragged along by the train The drive of the bus had already evacuated the passengers The Mayor of Zedelgem Annick Vermeulen (Christian democrat) told VRT News that “We should be grateful for the swift action taken by the bus driver The bus broke down and he decided to make everyone get off I can't think of what would have happened otherwise especially with all those children that were on the bus.” The level crossing on the Koning Alberstraat in Veldegem is completely closed to both road and rail traffic Part of the bus is still hanging from the train The crash caused the train to derail and it came to a halt several hundred metres down the track Disruption to rail services in West Flanders The Belgian rail company NMBS’ spokesman Bart Crols told VRT News that “Pretty much everyone that was on the train escaped injury We need to examine whether any damage has been any technical or infrastructural damage it will be some time before the train will be towed away.” Disruption to rail services in West Flanders is likely to continue for some time A replacement bus service is operating to ferry passengers between the stations in Bruges and Lichtervelde A group of Irish juniors has decamped to Belgium where they have been very successful already Cathir Doyle was 8th in the same race and Cian May was also off the front (All photos with thanks to Martine Verfaillie) Irish junior riders Breandan Flannagan and Adam Ward have scored another 1-2 result riding in Belgium The duo once again broke clear of an international field when they first filled the top two placings in a Belgian race Ward has taken a string of wins at home this year And Flannagan has also repeatedly impressed The grapevine says he has a remarkably big engine and that showed when he finished 14th in the junior road race at the European Championships they faced a technical and exposed circuit with 17 laps to race Also racing in Belgium are fellow Irish juniors Cathir Doyle Cian May (Lucan CRC) and Conor Gallagher (NRPT-Chill Insurance) Flannagan leads Maes and Ward in the breakaway Ward and Flannagan all compete for Irish team Powerhouse Sport at home in Belgium Doyle and May are riding for VZW Molenspurters Meulenbeke with the aid of Dany Blondeel at the Belgian Project Flannagan was active off the front from the gun on the way to eventual victory in Veldegem; getting clear in a 10-man group And Ward would later bridge across on his own as the breakaway extended its advantage over the peloton With four laps remaining Ward attacked off the front of the breakaway and pulled away with Belgian rider Laurens Maes this time Flannagan attacked from behind the two leaders picking off a number of chasers and getting across to the front two And in the closing kilometres the two Irish riders worked over their Belgian rival Ward let Flannagan’s wheel go and then sat on the Belgian as he tried to close the gap Ward jumped him and got across to his team mate The duo then rode hard for the finish line where they celebrated side by side Doyle would finish in 8th place; a very solid result in his first race And May would make it out of the bunch and into a chasing group on the day We’re determined to make stickybottle.com much better for your enjoyment So become a ‘Stickybottle Supporter’ now from just €5 per month We’ve grown our audience significantly in recent years but the advertising market has become harder and harder each year In order to survive and grow – and create much better content – we need to develop an income from our readers By signing up to become a ‘Stickybottle Supporter’ you’ll be helping to secure independent coverage of Irish cycling for years to come Every cent collected from readers will be used to directly fund content Sign Up