Deadly French train crash at Bretigny-sur-Orge

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC NEws

At least eight people are reported dead in a train crash at Bretigny-sur-Orge, south of the French capital Paris.

The intercity train had just left Paris and was heading towards Limoges when it derailed, crashing into a station platform at about 16:00 GMT.

Passengers were said to be trapped inside the train and a local official said there were "many casualties".

French broadcaster BFM-TV, citing police, said at least eight people had died in the accident.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23294630

[JustAnotherGen]

1. n/t

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. From France 24

Seven killed as commuter train derails outside Paris
http://www.france24.com/en/20130712-france-train-accident-paris-casualties

[dipsydoodle]

3. Minister: Human error not behind French crash

BRETIGNY-SUR-ORGE, France (AP) -- France's transport minister says human error did not cause a train derailment outside Paris that left six dead.

Frederic Cuvillier said Saturday that around 30 people were still considered injured. In all, nearly 200 people sustained injuries in the initial accident, when four train cars slid toward the station, some falling over.

The Friday night crash was France's deadliest in years, but Cuvillier said it could have been worse and praised the driver who sent out an alert quickly, preventing a pile up.

Cuvillier said it was unclear what did cause the accident, but authorities are looking into an error in the switching system as well as other possibilities.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_TRAIN_CRASH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-07-13-03-25-53

[MADem]

4. Two train crashes in French - speaking areas of the globe?

What an odd coincidence.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/13/us-train-idUSBRE96A0WS20130713

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Loose rail connector 'caused' France train crash

The train crash south of Paris which left six people dead was caused by a fault in the rail tracks, says the state rail company.

SNCF said a metal bar connecting two rails had become detached close to Bretigny-sur-Orge station.
...
Giving its initial findings, SNCF management told reporters the connector had worked its way loose and become detached at points 200m from Bretigny station causing the train to derail.

The inquiry is now expected to focus on how the piece of metal had become detached, and checks on these components are to be carried out on the whole of the network.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23298374

[dipsydoodle]

6. Sounds a bit like Hatfield revisited.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Hatfield, or Potter's Bar?

Potter's Bar was what I thought of as soon as I heard it was a train hitting a station at speed.

Hatfield was "a rail had fragmented as trains passed". Potter's Bar was "stretcher bars that keep the rails apart had come loose or gone missing".

[dipsydoodle]

8. I'd forgotten there two

They're both just up the road apiece from me. I meant track related as opposed to what happened in Wealdstone when I was just a kid.

The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash was a multiple train collision at Harrow and Wealdstone station, in London, at 8:19 am on 8 October 1952. An express train from Perth, Scotland crashed at speed into the rear of a local passenger train that had stopped at the station; within a few seconds of the collision an express train, travelling at speed in the opposite direction, crashed into the Perth train's locomotive. It was the worst peacetime rail crash in the United Kingdom:[1] there were 112 fatalities and 88 people were detained in hospital. The slow lines were reopened early the following morning, but it was several days before traffic was allowed on all lines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrow_and_Wealdstone_rail_crash