Childish fright for a 55-year-old Swiss motorist, this Sunday, December 1, 2024 on Departmental 132 between Avoudrey and Longemaison in Doubs. Around 3 p.m., the man lost control of his vehicle near a level crossing on a roadway made particularly slippery by the low temperatures. The car left the road before ending up on its roof, in contact with the rails of the Horlogers line.
The motorist, slightly injured, had time to escape from his car. Before the arrival, five minutes later, of a TER traveling between Besançon and Morteau, carrying around fifty passengers. The train driver saw the accident vehicle and applied emergency braking. A remarkable reflex which made it possible to stop the convoy just a meter from the car and thus avoid the collision.
A bus chartered by the SNCF to support travelers
The alert was given at 3:08 p.m. A major device was deployed by the Doubs emergency services, mobilizing around twenty firefighters from the centers of Avoudrey, Gilley, Orchamps-Vennes, Pierrefontaine-les-Varans, placed under the orders of Lieutenant Thomas Chabod, as well as an extrication cell from Besançon. Gendarmes from Haut-Doubs and the mayor of Longemaison were also on the scene.
The Swiss motorist was transported to the Haute-Comté intercommunal hospital center in Pontarlier for the usual examinations. The TER passengers were unhurt. Train traffic having been interrupted on this route, a bus was chartered by the SNCF to support them. “We found ourselves at a stop in the middle of nowhere… But we were immediately informed of what was happening,” testifies a 19-year-old Bisontin who was on board the TER.
The train left empty towards Morteau station.
