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Title: Fatal accident on a high-speed line: Auxerre, Burgundy - 17 Oct 2016 Post by: stuving on October 18, 2016, 09:11:09 High-speed lines are very well fenced to prevent people getting struck by trains, but it can happen. And when it does, the disruption is likely to be substantial.
Such a fatal collision happened last night to in France, as reported in The Local (https://www.thelocal.fr/20161018/fatal-accident-on-french-railroad-sees-12000-delayed). Quote Thousands spend night stuck on trains in France Published: 18 Oct 2016 08:37 GMT+02:00 A train ran into someone on the tracks in central France on Monday evening, prompting a huge series of delays. The train hit the person at around 7.15pm near Auxerre in northern Burgundy, on the main TGV line that links Paris and Marseille. The incident has been reported as a suicide by several French newspapers. The train stopped several kilometres after the collision, with the 1,200 passengers on board stuck for several hours. Rail traffic was blocked in both directions, with around 20 TGV trains between Marseille and Paris delayed for an average of 4.5 hours, reported Le Parisien newspaper. In total, around 12,000 passengers were forced to spend several hours on trains as the TGV trains were either forced to wait or were redirected to TER lines. Passengers finally arrived at the destinations in the early hours of the morning. There were reports of mass confusion and almost panic at Gare de Lyon as thousands of passengers arrived at 4am but without the usual public transport running, there was a battle for taxis. Many took to social media to share their frustration and confusion. "Good news everyone. I got home after a 15 hour trip. Thanks SNCF." Police officers have launched an investigation into the death. PS: The article is illustrated by a picture of a TER, which doesn't add anything. Title: Re: Fatal accident on a high-speed line: Auxerre, Burgundy - 17 Oct 2016 Post by: IndustryInsider on October 18, 2016, 09:31:30 Looks like huge amount of disruption caused by this sad incident. How well fenced off are TGV lines in rural France? I though that fencing was 'optional' in certain areas, unlike Britain where all lines are required to be fenced off, with HS1 using pretty beefy fencing.
Title: Re: Fatal accident on a high-speed line: Auxerre, Burgundy - 17 Oct 2016 Post by: stuving on October 18, 2016, 12:33:28 Looks like huge amount of disruption caused by this sad incident. How well fenced off are TGV lines in rural France? I though that fencing was 'optional' in certain areas, unlike Britain where all lines are required to be fenced off, with HS1 using pretty beefy fencing. Older French railways are indeed often unfenced, but I think the LGVs are different. The relevant section appears to have 2m+ chainlink fencing, plus similar on overbridge parapets. Of course there are no level crossings and the few stations have access far more restricted than "classic" ones. No doubt there are still ways in - for a start there are the link lines onto and off the LGVs. As it happens there is one of those nearby, but it's a very long walk to the end of the fencing. But fences can always be scaled, or cut. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |