The last car of a train floating in an Alsatian canal. The image blended into other traumas, to the point that it was almost forgotten. It dates back to Saturday November 14, 2015, the day after the attacks at the Bataclan, the Parisian terraces and the Stade de France. However, it shows what remains, to this day, the worst disaster in the history of the TGV in France.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers At the TGV Est trial, the anger of the civil parties against the defendants: “There is still time to take responsibility. It’s up to you to say if you want to come out of this trial with your head held high”
Add to your selections
At 3:06 p.m. that day, at the Eckwersheim bridge (Bas-Rhin), which spans the canal leading from the Marne to the Rhine, the test train of the new high-speed line derailed with 53 people on board. Results: 11 dead and 42 injured.
The explanation is terribly simple: the train approached a sharp curve at 265 km/h instead of 176 km/h and braked too late. The examination of the chain of faults and negligence which led to the disaster was less so during the trial, which was held from March to May before the 31e chamber of the Paris criminal court.
400,000 euros fine
The six defendants all blamed each other for the accident, to the point of exasperating the father of one victim, summing up the nine weeks of hearing in a few words on the stand: “It’s not me, it’s the other one. » Three legal entities were prosecuted: SNCF, its subsidiaries Systra (responsible for organizing the tests) and SNCF Réseau (track manager); as well as three people physically present in the cockpit at the time of the derailment, namely Denis T., the driver of the train, Francis L., the “traction manager” whose role was to give him the braking instructions, and Philippe B., the technician responsible for informing the driver of the particularities of the track.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Trial of the TGV Est derailment in 2015: the defendants blame each other
Add to your selections
Thursday October 10, the Paris criminal court found the three companies as well as the driver Denis T. and his colleague Francis L. guilty of “injuries and manslaughter caused by clumsiness, recklessness, negligence or breach of a duty of safety”. Only Philippe B. played no role according to the court, which acquitted him.
SNCF was fined 400,000 euros, Systra 225,000 euros and SNCF Réseau 150,000 euros. Denis T. was sentenced to seven months in prison and Francis L. was sentenced to fifteen months in prison.
“Collective blindness”
“After nine years of denial, justice was rendered in a symbolically strong and severe manner against legal entities”reacted Gérard Chemla, lawyer for fifty civil parties, also expressing his satisfaction that the court had sent a “very strong message to the victims, specifying that their feeling of injustice had been reinforced by a defense system in which no one assumed their responsibilities”.
You have 18.99% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
Related News :