Heavy road vehicles on railway level crossings - various incidents

[whole diary]

[stuving]

From TheLocal.fr

Eight injured as train hits lorry near Paris
Published: 21 Apr 2015 11:37 GMT+02:00
Updated: 21 Apr 2015 11:37 GMT+02:00

UPDATED: A passenger train hit a lorry at a level crossing in the town of Nangis to the south-east of Paris on Tuesday morning, leaving seven people injured, including one seriously.

The incident occurred near the train station at Nangis, south east of the capital (see map below), at around 8.45am on Tuesday.

The train, which was carrying 350 passengers from Belfort to Paris, crashed into a lorry that had stopped for unknown reasons at a level crossing near the station.

The impact was so severe that five carriages of the train were derailed.

Firefighters, police, and ambulances were sent to the scene, where seven people were injured - one seriously, said train operator SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) in a statement.

Passengers took to social media to share images images from the crash, which show the train's derailment and debris on a nearby platform.

SNCF said that an investigation had been launched to determine exactly what went wrong.

Collisions with HGVs in general, and convois exceptionnels in particular, do seem to be a large proportion of level crossing accidents in France. From other reports this lorry was a convoi exceptionnel, and it was apparently not permitted on this road.

In this case the train was loco-hauled, so perhaps it came out better than a TER (DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)) would have done. Even so, five carriages were derailed, but the fact that none fell on its side probably accounts for no-one being killed.

[stuving]

This French report from La Republique Seine-et-Marne Give far higher figures of 37 injured,three seriously (including the train driver). I'm not sure which is right (latest revised) version. It also has a picture; AFAICS^▸ ('as far as I can see') the train split the lorry from its trailer and spun both parts round.

Seine-et-Marne - 37 bless^s dont 3 dans un ^tat s^rieux apr^s la collision entre un train et un poids lourd
Un train de voyageurs a percut^ un poids lourd, ce mardi vers 8h45, ^ hauteur du passage en gare de Nangis. Le bilan fait ^tat de 37 bless^s dont trois dans un ^tat s^rieux.

21/04/2015 ^ 13:26 par admin
[Image from here is not available to guests]
L'accident s'est produit ce mardi matin ^ hauteur du passage ^ niveau de Nangis.Trente-quatre personnes ont ^ l^rement bless^es et deux autres plus gravement, dont le conducteur de la locomotive.

Un bilan provisoire important. Un accident entre un train et un poids lourd s^est produit ce mardi 21 avril vers 8 h 40 ^ hauteur du passage ^ niveau de la gare de Nangis. D^apr^s la gendarmerie, 37 personnes ont ^  bless^es dont trois sont dans un ^tat s^rieux. L^une d^elles a ^ h^liport^e vers la Piti^-Salp^tri^re et les deux autres conduites vers l^pital de Provins. Leurs pronostics vitaux ne sont toutefois pas engag^s.

Les autres personnes, plus l^rement touch^es sont soign^es sur place. Un important dispositif de secours est actuellement mobilis^ dont un h^licopt^re de la s^curit^ civile.

Le choc s^est produit apr^s que le convoi exceptionnel qui transportait des engins agricoles s^est retrouv^ bloqu^ hauteur du passage ^ niveau. Une enqu^te de gendarmerie a ^ ouverte pour comprendre les circonstances de cet accident. D^apr^s les premi^res constations, il pourrait s^agit d^une panne. Le conducteur aurait tent^ de pr^venir les agents SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) mais le train ^tait d^ engag^. Il s^agit d^un Intercit^ qui faisait la liaisons entre Belfort (90) et Paris. Le train a percut^ la remorque, ce qui a entra^ le d^raillement de sept wagons.

[stuving]

The only trial to come out of this accident, of the coach driver, starts this morning in Marseille. Views on on whether she did drive through the barrier or not are still divided as they always were, notwithstanding the BEA-TT report. Nothing new of any significance has emerged since. For some, the trial will finally decide, but no doubt some will never be convinced.

The trial itself is huge - 123 "civil parties" (or more), with a right to legal representation. It's the first trial to be shown by CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit TeleVision) in another room (in Perpignan), following a change in the law. In some ways it's a surprise it's only scheduled to last three weeks.

SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) are not directly involved, except as witnesses. Their request to be a "civil party" has not been accepted, but of course the court's decision could in effect find them at fault.

[broadgage]

What I find surprising is that neither the train, nor the bus, nor the crossing were equipped with CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit TeleVision) and recording.

[stuving]

They are still at it - after a bit of a lull. On Monday evening, a TER from Epinal to Belfort struck a convoi exceptionnel transportant un mât d’éolienne near Le Clerjus. A dozen minor injuries among the passengers; nothing worse than a broken ankle.

I think that rather lucky result was because, while the road is at nearly 45^o, the low loader was pushed at one end and straightened up. It also meshed with the train, which wasn't pushed onto its side, but just stopped very quickly.

Very few pictures; the best is from Vosges Matin (credit DR):
[Image from here is not available to guests]

As to what this mast of a wind turbine really was, I've seen a prefabricated section on the road. Whether it could be a whole mast - presumably 80-100 m and at least as many tonnes - I'm not sure. The carrier is LASO, the big Portuguese haulier, which has been expanding across Europe recently (including opening in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) recently). You'd think they would be reasonably clued up about the very variable rules on his kind of transport across Europe, but even so ...

Crossing 51 is not really close to Le Clerjus (or indeed anywhere); it's just the commune. The closest station is at a hamlet with the oh-so-French name of Bains-les-Bains.

[Mark A]

Tractor trailer detaches on level crossing and is hit by the train.

At least two injuries among the TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) passengers, unfortunately.

Mark


https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2024/08/27/see-how-the-eurostar-ploughs-into-a-trailer-stuck-on-a-level-cro/

[stuving]

A few added facts:
This crossing is in Belgium, on line 94, so Infrabel is responsible for it.
The main LGV^▸ (Lignes à Grande Vitesse (high speed rail lines) in France, or Large Goods Vehicle in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), depending on context)  has been closed for some kind of work, so all Lille-Brussels high-speed trains had to use line 94.
Four TGVs^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) and four Eorostar trains were cancelled; three Eurostar trains went via Mons instead.
Line 94 was closed from the accident (before 0800) until 1600 and is now full open (but will close tonight for permanent repair work).
The closure of the LGV for a major rebuild - it's now 27 years old - is 12-30 August for this section (as announced in February). The diversion via Mons was already being used by Paris-Brussels TGVs.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thank you, again, for your detailed post, stuving - this Coffee Shop forum's very own 'European correspondent'.  Your input is much appreciated.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum). 

[stuving]

From Railtech:

One dead, 26 injured after ICE train collides with truck near Hamburg
Published on 12-02-2025 at 09:00            Sebastian Peters/EPA/News5/ANP
[Image from here is not available to guests]
One person was killed and at least 26 people injured at a railway crossing on Tuesday afternoon after a Deutsche Bahn ICE train and a semi-trailer truck collided near Hamburg. The tragedy has led to rail traffic being completely upended in the region.

The accident occurred at the “Reller” crossing in Hamburg-Rönneburg, impacting rail operations significantly. The collision involved ICE 613, which was en route to Munich, and a semi-trailer truck. At the time of the accident, 291 passengers were aboard the train.

The lorry was carrying rails, which you can see in the picture, from the Vossloh Rail Centre at Rönneburg . It didn't make it round the sharp bends on this access road in time. Assuming this was a normal level crossing, you do wonder if that was ever the right solution for this location.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for posting, stuving: that's awful news.

[stuving]

Yet another collision at a level crossing in France this morning. Initial reports say that a TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) struck a vehicle (perhaps a bus) carrying soldiers, two of whom were killed. This was at crossing 85 on the line between Arras and Lens, at the D49 from Thélus to Bailleul-Sir-Berthoult. Why the TGV was on that line, and where it was going, I don't yet know.

[stuving]

Newer reports correct that to a TER not a TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse), and the vehicle was a car with one other occupant who is seriously injured. This was a very violent collision, with the vehicle thrown forward against a house and then a steel stanchion.

[stuving]

Further news updates tonight, from official sources so they story should be correct now. The vehicle was a Ford explorer belonging to the army, but used for a driving lesson. Both student and instructor, serving with the 41st signals regiment of Douai, were killed; there was no other injured passenger. Four of the 100 or so passengers on the train were taken to hospital, none seriously injured.

The driver is reported to have said he saw the car stopped on the crossing, others say it was there before the barriers came down.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

[Image from here is not available to guests]

At least one person has died and several others have been injured after a train collided with a slurry tanker and derailed in southern Denmark, officials said.

Police said the crash happened between the towns of Tinglev and Kliplev in southern Jutland, and that officers were at the site.

Local outlet TV2 reported helicopters had been sent to the scene and quoted local rail officials as saying the train had "hit a slurry tanker" at a level crossing.

The country's rail operator DSB said that it had shut down services between Tinglev and Sønderborg near the German border.

[Image from here is not available to guests]

Pictures from the scene showed a carriage lying on its side, with passengers stood around the train tracks.

Police said 95 passengers were on board, including pupils from a school in Sønderborg. Two of the injured were carried away by helicopter.

The national rail agency Banedanmark wrote on X that the collision happened at a railway crossing. According to local media, at least two of the train carriages were derailed.

[RailCornwall]

At a railway crossing in Meteren, a truck full of pears was hit by a passing train. The truck became stuck on the track when the barriers were lowered. The driver was unable to avoid the collision.

Five people sustained minor injuries, but according to local residents, "it was a lucky accident on all sides."


https://youtu.be/OjdpZnvtFB4?si=u0QhFfjrMN98sXO2