This is an extremely rare incident and described as “serious” by the Sud-Rail union. This Wednesday morning, two trains were victims of a “collision” at the entrance to the Gare de l’Est in Paris. It is a “lateral collision between two trains that occurs at an intersection or at a track crossing,” can be read on the website of the Public Railway Safety Institute.
Specifically, two trains, a TGV and a Transilien, that were approaching the station to dock, lightly brushed each other at a track crossing. The TGV was stopped and had not yet left the passage area as the Transilien approached. The Transilien driver clearly saw the TGV that was stopped, but “he trusted the system, checking that it was well oriented on the planned track. As he approached at low speed, he realized that the passage could not be made without contact. There was a slight collision in the TGV train against which he stopped,” reads a brochure from the union organization.
No casualties were reported and the damage was superficial. But when it comes to rail safety, the incident stands out because these types of situations should never happen. No matter what, a train cannot enter a “block” (a zone) if another train is already present.
SNCF evokes an “operational incident”
How did these two trains end up in the same place at the same time? The investigation has revealed “a design defect in the poorly placed ‘glued insulating joint’. This device, which was supposed to guarantee the switchman (and therefore the train drivers) that the block was free, erroneously indicated that the track was free, while the tail of the TGV train was still on the track gauge. That is, the system authorized a dangerous route, while the train had not yet completely cleared the area,” explains the union.
And denounce “an unacceptable situation, which reveals the technical and organizational failures of the network.”
Source: BFM TV
