The suicide of a TGV driver who jumped from his moving train is at the origin of the major disruptions on the South-East high-speed line which affected more than thousands of travelers on Christmas Eve, announced the SNCF Wednesday.
The driver “ended his life while the train was moving,” SNCF said in a press release.
“As soon as he left his driving position, the train's automatic stopping devices were activated and the train stopped automatically,” she said.
“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,” the railway company said.
This “personal accident” is the cause of significant delays Tuesday evening on the LGV Sud-Est, which involved around ten TGVs and affected thousands of passengers on Christmas Eve, with delays of up to at three and five o'clock.
Previously, it was the Melun public prosecutor's office (Seine-et-Marne) which had mentioned this lead, indicating that “the first findings seem to lead to the idea of an act of suicide by the driver of a TGV train after the discovery of a lifeless body.
“Automatic railway safety procedures ensured the train stopped,” added the prosecution.
According to a police source, the driver's lifeless body was discovered a little later.
The incident took place in the south of Seine-et-Marne, in the town of Crisenoy, in the gendarmerie zone.
Another judicial investigation was opened to investigate the causes of death and entrusted to the Melun gendarmerie company, the prosecution said.
The SNCF, which insisted on this “terrible tragedy” which plunged the entire railway family into “mourning” on this Christmas Day, explains that the security systems worked perfectly.
According to a spokesperson, this is the first time “in memory” that such an incident has occurred.
– Pegasus Plan –
The company explains that the safety device, called “Automatic Standby with Support Maintenance Control” (VACMA), “allows the active presence of the driver to be confirmed at all times” in the train's driving 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 does not release the pressure every 30 seconds or if he does not 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,” she underlines.
The stop on the tracks of the train driven by the railway worker found deceased blocked the TGVs in both directions on this axis. The trains had to be diverted and took another route, which caused longer travel times, according to SNCF explanations.
Tuesday evening, the delays were first assessed at 1:30 a.m. by the SNCF on its site. The company announced later in the night of the “gradual resumption of traffic following a personal accident south of Paris”.
According to an AFP report around midnight, delays had increased by three to five hours for at least three trains: the TGV Inoui Brussels-Lyon n°9844, the Ouigo Paris-Lyon n°7805 and the TGV Inoui Montpellier -Paris n°6206.
These trains were departing or arriving from Gare de Lyon.
The event led to the launch of the Pégase plan (Plan against congestion at stations in exceptional situations), intended to absorb the massive arrival of travelers at stations while most public transport is no longer in service.
The device was lifted at 3:00 a.m., according to a source close to the investigation.
