What was this train carrying nuclear waste that crossed the Aisne?

Numerous CRS convoys, police officers everywhere… If you passed near Tergnier station on the night of Tuesday November 19, 2024, you surely wondered why such a surveillance device had been deployed.

It was in fact the passage of a train carrying nuclear waste, commonly called « Castor »pour « Cask for storage and transport of radioactive material ». Departing from Valognes station (Manche), he went to Germany via the Aisne, notably to Tergnier station.

Night traffic under close surveillance

The highly radioactive waste it transports requires special attention for this convoy, which is considered very dangerous. The “beaver trains” only run at night and under close surveillance. The presence of law enforcement makes it possible to “ prevent any incident or obstruction to traffic before the train passes », explain our colleagues from the new Aisne.

Indeed, the “beaver trains” are the subject of strong tensions, particularly with anti-nuclear activists who have tried several times in the past to stop the convoy. In November 2004, Sébastien Briat, a 22-year-old young man, lost his life when hit by a train in Meurthe-et-Moselle.