A serious train accident occurred in the early hours of today, April 7, in northern Francewhere a TGV high speed train (“Train à Grande Vitesse”) hit the trailer of a vehicle transporting equipment military along the line between Béthune and Lens. According to reports from Le Figarothe impact, which occurred around 07:00 in the morning, caused the death of a person, the train driver, and the injury of 27 others, of which 2 were in serious condition.
They were on board the convoy 243 passengersaccording to the latest information updated released by Le Monde. Meanwhile SNCF, the French national railway company, has railway traffic interrupted between Béthune and Lens at least until late in the evening.
The reaction of the institutions was immediate: the French Minister of Transport intervened on the merits of the accident Philippe Tabarot who, through his profile on X, declared: «This morning, between Béthune and Lens, an accident occurred involving a lorry and a TGV train». The minister then concluded: «I will go with the president and CEO of SNCF, Jean Castex».
The updated toll of the train accident: one dead and 27 injured
According to initial reconstructions, around 07:00 today, April 7, the TGV high-speed train – coming from Dunkirk and heading to Paris – would have hit a trailer, part of a special military convoy carrying a mobile bridge. The collision occurred near the level crossing just outside Nœux-les-Minesa town located between Lens and Béthune. Although the convoy was a TGV, the train was not traveling at high speed on that stretch of track: nevertheless, the impact was violent enough to cause the death of the driver.
The exact circumstances of the accident are not yet known: the suspension of rail traffic will allow investigators to determine possible causesremove damaged material and assess the condition of the infrastructure. As stated by the SNCF on its website, neighboring lines may also be affected, with electricity having nevertheless “been restored in the area, but changes have been made to train timetables to allow routes to be diverted”.
The characteristics of the TGV, the French high-speed train
The TGV (“Train à Grande Vitesse”) is the French high-speed train operated by SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), the national railway company. Entered service in September 1981the TGV made the first connections between Paris and Lyon using the new high-speed line built between Saint-Florentin and Sathonay-Camp, near Lyon, then establishing a speed record of 380 km/h.
Starting from the 90s, the SNCF then extended the service to several European capitals, connecting Paris And London already in 1994 and managing to operate connections with the cities of Milan, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Luxembourg and Barcelona. Today the TGV reaches one of the highest speeds on rail, marking i 574.8 km/h.
