Zoufftgen train collision
| 2006 Zoufftgen train collision | |
|---|---|
CFL, SNCF | |
| Incident type | Head-on collision |
| Cause | Human error – traffic controllers |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Deaths | 6 |
| Injured | 20 |
The 2006 Zoufftgen train collision occurred around 11.45 am on 11 October 2006, near
Circumstances
One train was a
The accident occurred between the border stations of
Only a single track was being used because of engineering works. The line was
Response
The
- Around 100 police soldiers of the French National Gendarmerie,
- 150 French and Luxembourger firefighters
- 50 emergency vehicles
- 7 French and Luxembourger vehicle extrication units.
The "
Investigations
Preliminary
According to the preliminary investigation, validated by the prefecture of the Department of Moselle and the Luxembourg authorities, the accident had caused:
- Six deaths, two Luxembourgers and four French, being the drivers and a worker on the adjacent track
- Two serious injuries (both French), removed to Thionville and Luxembourg for treatment
- Fourteen minor injuries or shock, treated in Thionville and Luxembourg.[2]
Inquiries
The accident being in both France and Luxembourg, judicial inquiries were opened by the authorities in both
On 8 October 2007, the court of the
Later
After further investigations by SNCF and CFL, railway officials came to the conclusion that the fault lay with the Luxembourg rail traffic controllers who cleared the passenger train onto the same track as the freight train. Luxembourg's Transport Minister Lucien Lux was quoted as saying "It's tough to say, but it's the fault of the CFL."[3]
Analysis
The Luxembourger driver of TER 837 617 received an order to pass a red (stop) signal to enter the zone operated by freight train number 45 938, pulled by SNCF Class BB 37000 locomotive 37007 from the Thionville depot, which had entered the section as normal by passing a green signal.
The accident was due to a human signalling error on the Luxembourg side, according to information from the Luxembourg Minister of Transport on 15 October 2006.
The CFL accepted that the double-deck passenger train (
Having realised the mistake, the signaller at Bettembourg triggered an alert by RST (Radio sol train, "Train Radio System"), which was not received by the driver of the passenger train. He then wanted to cut the electricity supply for the line, but this was not possible because of the different
Crumple zones
 |
The Class 2200 rolling stock was extremely new (2004) and had crumple zones that progressively collapsed in the event of overriding (locomotive BB 37007 going under the CFL locomotive).
The cab of locomotive BB 37007 was destroyed by the force of the collision, but the rest of the leading structure remained "coherent". The crumple zone had been compressed. The driver, stuck in the cab, had no escape. The trailing wagons left the track to the right (in the direction of the train) after their couplings failed.
The head motor car of the CFL train, built on the same assembly line as the SNCF train, had had its cabin crushed by the force of the collision and the roof was torn off by the overriding locomotive; however the intermediate trailing wagons and the tail motor car remained on the track, because the ends of each of the cars in between had anti-override structures which "locked" against each other in case of shock. These structures led to the high number of survivors.
See also
- List of rail accidents (2000–present)
References
- ^ "Accident ferroviaire survenu à Zoufftgen (F): Etat de la situation à 15h24" (in French). Luxembourg Government. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- Préfecture of Moselle. 13 October 2006. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 November 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ "Luxembourg takes rail crash blame". BBC News. 15 October 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ "SNCF Press release" (in French). SNCF. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
External links
