Thousands of passengers were impacted on Tuesday evening, New Year's Eve, by a severe delay on the South-East line. The cause is dramatic.
The SNCF confirmed, Wednesday December 25, that it was indeed the suicide of a TGV driver which was the cause of the delays on the South-East high-speed line that occurred on New Year's Eve. Information confirmed by the Melun public prosecutor's office (Seine-et-Marne). The driver “ended his life while the train was moving”, explains the SNCF, which adds that “the automatic stopping devices of the train were activated and the train stopped automatically”, specifying that “the safety of train passengers was not threatened at any time, nor was the safety of traffic”.
An act of desperation by the train driver, the reasons for which are not yet known, and which impacted many people this New Year's Eve. Many people were on the train, to join their loved ones on this particular evening, when the emergency system was activated.
Up to 5 hours late
Some of the more than 3,000 affected travelers arrived up to 5 hours late at their destinations. However, no trains have been canceled, indicates the SNCF. On its website, the railway company indicated that some delays were still expected on Wednesday, with the “gradual resumption of traffic following a personal accident south of Paris”.
