Denguin rail crash
{{Short description|2014 public transit disaster near Denguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France}}
{{Infobox public transit accident
| name = Denguin rail crash
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| image_map =
| image_map_alt =
| image_map_caption =
| pushpin_map =
| alternative_map =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| mapframe =
| qid =
| mapframe_zoom =
| coordinates =
| date = 17 July 2014
| time = 17:38 CEST (15:38 UTC)
| location = Denguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
| location_dir =
| location_city =
| location_dist_km =
| location_dist_mi =
| country = France
| owner =
| service =
| type = Rear-end collision
| cause = Under investigation, suspected SPAD
| bus =
| trains = 2
| vehicles =
| passengers = 238
| crew =
| pedestrians =
| deaths =
| injuries = 40 (4 seriously)
| damage =
| property =
| route_map =
| route_map_state =
| route_map_name =
| footnotes =
}}
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.
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.{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2014/07/18/questions-sur-la-collision-de-la-ligne-pau-bayonne_4459407_3224.html |title=Ligne Pau-Bayonne: les causes de la collision toujours floues |trans-title=Line Pau-Bayonne: the causes of the crash still unclear |language=fr |newspaper=Le Monde |date=18 July 2014 |accessdate=18 July 2014 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140726100849/http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2014/07/18/questions-sur-la-collision-de-la-ligne-pau-bayonne_4459407_3224.html |archivedate=26 July 2014 |url-status=live }} Nine people have been reported to be seriously injured.{{cite news|title=Nine seriously injured in French train collision |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-accident-idUSKBN0FM2DX20140717 |agency=Reuters |date=17 July 2014 |accessdate=17 July 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717223517/https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/17/us-france-accident-idUSKBN0FM2DX20140717 |archivedate=17 July 2014 |url-status=live }}
The TGV was travelling from Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées to Paris.http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/accident/pyrenees-atlantiques-au-moins-15-blesses-dans-une-collision-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter_649741.html|date=17{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} July 2014, updated 18 July 2014|accessdate=22 July 2014| The TGV was reported to have come to a halt at a red signal near Denguin before proceeding under caution.{{cite news|publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28358137 |title=French high-speed TGV train crashes near Denguin |date=17 July 2014 |accessdate=17 July 2014 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717223456/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28358137 |archivedate=17 July 2014 }} At 17:38 CEST (15:38 UTC),{{cite news|url=http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/aquitaine/2014/07/17/plusieurs-blesses-apres-un-accident-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter-518809.html|title=Pyrénées-Atlantiques : 17 blessés après un accident entre un TGV et un TER|trans-title=17 injured after an accident between a TGV and a TER|language= fr|publisher=France 3|date=17 July 2014|accessdate=17 July 2014}} the TER train ran into the TGV, which was then travelling at {{convert|30|km/h|mph}}.{{cite web|accessdate=17 July 2014 |url=http://www.sudouest.fr/2014/07/17/denguin-64-collision-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter-1618033-4344.php |title=Béarn : 40 blessés dont quatre graves dans la collision entre deux trains |trans-title=Béarn: 40 injured, four seriously in collision between two trains |language=fr |newspaper=Sud Ouest |date=17 July 2014 |archivedate=19 July 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719030357/http://www.sudouest.fr/2014/07/17/denguin-64-collision-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter-1618033-4344.php |url-status=live }} The TER train was travelling at {{convert|90|km/h|mph}} at the time of the collision. Forty people were injured, four seriously. The driver of the TER train was amongst those seriously injured. 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.{{cite news|date=17 July 2014 |language=fr |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/07/17/collision-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter-pres-de-pau-plusieurs-blesses_4459173_3234.html |title=Accident de trains à Pau : un signal était "en maintenance" |trans-title=Pau train accident: signal was "under maintenance" |newspaper=Le Monde |accessdate=17 July 2014 |url-status=live |archivedate=18 July 2014 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140718152002/http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/07/17/collision-entre-un-tgv-et-un-ter-pres-de-pau-plusieurs-blesses_4459173_3234.html }} By the afternoon of 18 July, two people remained in hospital with injuries described as "not life threatening".
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. 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 {{convert|120|km/h|mph}} before the collision.
Investigation
The French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA-TT) have opened an investigation into the accident. A separate criminal investigation was also opened, as was an internal investigation by SNCF.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=https://www.bea-tt.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/denguin-english-summary-a887.html|title=Denguin english summary|publisher=French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau|date=2019-01-22}}
- [https://www.bea-tt.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/denguin-64-17-07-2014-collision-par-rattrapage-de-r216.html Files about the accident from the French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau] - [https://www.bea-tt.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Rapport_BEATT_2014-010.pdf Final report PDF] {{inlang|fr}}
- [http://www.sncf.com/fr/ressources/imagecache/sncfcom_media_image_100_percent/images/img_presse_tgv_heurte_profil_collision_ter_lescar_17-07-2014.jpg Photo showing the damaged TGV train]
- [http://www.sudouest.fr/images/2014/07/17/1618076_image-1200_800x597p.jpg?v=1 Photo showing the damaged TER train]
{{2014 railway accidents}}
{{Railway accidents and incidents in France}}
Category:Train collisions in France
Category:Railway accidents in 2014
Category:History of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Category:Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger