Level crossings are the bane of railway networks. We recall the shocking images of a TGV violently hitting a tractor stopped at a level crossing in Belgium last August.
In the United States, a semi-trailer carrying a military tank was hit by a freight train in Goose Creek on Thursday, causing no injuries.
Witnesses said the trailer got stuck on the tracks as a train approached. Despite the driver’s efforts, the accident could not be avoided as shown in the video below.
“At that moment the barriers started to fall, we rushed to tell the driver to get off the truck, he jumped off and the train came. And maybe five seconds later the train crashed and destroyed everything, it was like a bomb exploding,” Sonya Pitt told local channel Live 5 News.
“We would like to remind motorists to pay attention and respect posted signs and warnings when approaching grade crossings,” CSX, the affected rail operator, said in a statement.
In France, there were still 14,447 level crossings in 2022; that year, 84 collisions between vehicles and trains were recorded, resulting in the death of 27 people (pedestrians, motorists, train passengers).
SNCF is investing to reduce their number: in 2004 there were nearly 17,000 level crossings and 110 collisions resulting in the deaths of 74 people.
Source: BFM TV
