Train traffic on the South-East high-speed line was disrupted during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, causing three to five hours of delay on Christmas Eve. The company confirmed that the driver committed suicide while the train was moving.
A nightmarish New Year's Eve. More than 3,000 passengers traveling on the South-East high-speed line were forced to spend Christmas evening on a TGV or Ouigo “because of a personal accident in the south of Seine-et-Marne” which took place around 8 p.m., confirmed the SNCF.
According to a source close to the investigation, these delays are explained by the fall of a train driver early in the evening. His lifeless body was discovered a little later by firefighters. This fall required the interruption of traffic on the entire SUD TGV line. “The first findings seem to suggest an act of suicide by the driver of a TGV train”said the Melun public prosecutor’s office (Seine-et-Marne) on Wednesday. “Automatic rail safety procedures ensured the train stopped”added the prosecution.
SNCF confirmed the information this Wednesday at midday. The driver “ended his life while the train was moving”announced the transport company, specifying that “the safety of train passengers was not threatened at any time, nor was the safety of traffic.” The company launched its own investigation while another, judicial, was opened to research the causes of death and entrusted to the Melun gendarmerie company.
Saccording to a letter from the management of the TGV South-East axis to all the teams, that Liberation was able to consult, the death is indeed that of the driver of train no. 6689 which left Paris Gare Lyon and had the destination Lyon. According to this document, “shortly after departure from Paris, the train stopped following the activation of emergency braking due to the driver's failure to acknowledge the automatic standby.” Which means that the driver no longer had control of the train controls. An extraordinary meeting of the CSSCT (Health, Safety and Working Conditions Commission) of the SNCF is planned for this Wednesday afternoon, attended by representatives of management and employees.
Three to five hours late
According to our information, six TGVs were affected, all of them arrived at their destination. On its website, the SNCF indicated that due to this incident, delays could be up to 1 hour 30 minutes but the indicative timetables noted by AFP around midnight for three trains suggest up to three to five hours of delay. . Some passengers expressed their dismay on X.
The traffic disruption affected the TGV Inoui Brussels-Lyon number 9844 which was supposed to be three hours late, the Ouigo Paris-Lyon Perrache number 7805 whose arrival delay was estimated at 4 hours 40 and the TGV Inoui Montpellier- Paris number 6206 which must have been five hours late.
No details on the number of travelers
“The trains take another route in both directions, which results in longer travel times of around 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes” for the TGV Inoui and Ouigo traveling in the sector, SNCF indicated Tuesday evening. “Certain trains are blocked and will have to wait for traffic to resume on the high-speed line”she specified, adding that a resumption of traffic was planned at the end of the evening, in a message published shortly after midnight.
The SNCF does not specify how many passengers were affected by these delays in the middle of Christmas Eve. She indicated in a message to travelers that “Firefighters are on scene” of the accident.
Update : at 11:05 a.m. with the announcement from the Melun public prosecutor's office of a possible “act of suicide” by a driver; with the document sent by SNCF to all teams, consulted by “Libération”; at 12:40 p.m. with confirmation from SNCF of the driver's suicide.
