Denguin rail crash

The Denguin rail crash occurred on 17 July 2014 when a TER passenger train collided with a SNCF TGV express train near Denguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. Forty people were injured, four seriously.

Denguin rail crash
Details
Date17 July 2014
17:38 CEST (15:38 UTC)
LocationDenguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
CountryFrance
LinePau - Bayonne
OperatorSNCF and TER
Incident typeRear-end collision
CauseUnder investigation, suspected SPAD
Statistics
Trains2
Passengers238
Injured40 (4 seriously)

Accident

A high-speed TGV train on the Pau-Bayonne line was transporting 178 people when a regional TER train carrying 60 passengers crashed into it near the town of Denguin.[1] Nine people have been reported to be seriously injured.[2]

The TGV was travelling from Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées to Paris.[3] The TGV was reported to have come to a halt at a red signal near Denguin before proceeding under caution.[1][4] At 17:38 CEST (15:38 UTC),[5] the TER train ran into the TGV, which was then travelling at 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph).[6] The TER train was travelling at 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) at the time of the collision.[1] Forty people were injured, four seriously. The driver of the TER train was amongst those seriously injured.[6] There were 170 passengers on the TGV and 70 on the TER train. Three of the injured were evacuated from the crash site by helicopter.[7] By the afternoon of 18 July, two people remained in hospital with injuries described as "not life threatening".[1]

Secretary of State for Transport, Marine and Fisheries Frédéric Cuvillier stated that signals were under maintenance at the time. Whether or not this was a causal factor in the accident would be part of the investigation. SNCF refuted suggestions that high temperatures had caused the TGV to suddenly slow.[7] It is thought that the TER train received a green signal and had no warning of the TGV ahead until it came in sight. The TER train had been travelling at 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) before the collision.[1]

Investigation

The French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA-TT) have opened an investigation into the accident. A separate criminal investigation was also opened,[7] as was an internal investigation by SNCF.[1]

References
  1. "Ligne Pau-Bayonne: les causes de la collision toujours floues" [Line Pau-Bayonne: the causes of the crash still unclear]. Le Monde (in French). 18 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  2. "Nine seriously injured in French train collision". Reuters. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/accident/pyrenees-atlantiques-au-moins-15-blesses-dans-une-collision-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter_649741.html%7Cdate=17%5B%5D July 2014, updated 18 July 2014|accessdate=22 July 2014|
  4. "French high-speed TGV train crashes near Denguin". BBC News. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  5. "Pyrénées-Atlantiques : 17 blessés après un accident entre un TGV et un TER" [17 injured after an accident between a TGV and a TER] (in French). France 3. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  6. "Béarn : 40 blessés dont quatre graves dans la collision entre deux trains" [Béarn: 40 injured, four seriously in collision between two trains]. Sud Ouest (in French). 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  7. "Accident de trains à Pau : un signal était "en maintenance"" [Pau train accident: signal was "under maintenance"]. Le Monde (in French). 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
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