Suicide of a TGV driver: the scenario of a runaway train avoided thanks to SNCF procedures

When some will remember the disruptions generated for thousands of SNCF passengers on Christmas Eve, others will remember that a rail disaster could well have been avoided on Tuesday evening. This Wednesday, the SNCF confirmed that it was the desperate act of a TGV driver who “ended his life while the train was moving”, which was at the origin of the cut-off. the LGV Sud-Est in both directions.

But how could the device have stopped in such circumstances? “As soon as he left his driving position, the train's automatic stopping devices were activated and the train stopped automatically,” SNCF said in a press release on Wednesday. This is, more precisely, the “Automatic standby with downforce control” (VACMA) safety device which also “confirms the active presence of the driver at all times” in the driving cabin.

Very loud alarm in the cabin

The driver must therefore “alternately press then release either a pedal with the foot or a contactor with the hand”, indicates the SNCF. “If he doesn't release the pressure every 30 seconds or if he doesn't press the mechanism again after 5 seconds, a very loud alarm goes off in the driver's cab to make him react. He has 3 seconds to do it. » “If it does not do so, the train engines automatically cut off their traction effort and the automatic emergency braking device is triggered at the same time,” specifies the company. “In the case of yesterday’s tragedy (Tuesday evening, Editor’s note), this security system worked as expected.”

And the SNCF added: “The safety of train passengers was not threatened at any time, nor was the safety of traffic, the traffic management center having been immediately automatically alerted.”