Train services between Caen and Rouen resumed on Monday, October 5, following nearly a month of extensive repairs after a TER regional train derailed on September 11, injuring 44 people, including an 18-year-old woman who was seriously hurt.
Investigation Confirms Rail Fragment Caused Accident
The initial report from the Bureau of Investigation into Land Transport Accidents (BEA-TT), published on September 25, confirmed that the derailment was caused by “the presence of a rail” on the Caen-Rouen line near Cléon in the Seine-Maritime department.
In the days following the accident, authorities provided no information about its cause while a judicial investigation was opened and continues to this day. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez emphasized on September 13 that “we must remain extremely cautious… but for now, no lead has been ruled out. Ultimately, none is being prioritized… I repeat, no lead is excluded.”
“I have the same information as the public prosecutor, who is leading the investigation. He was right to be cautious in indicating that we should be careful about the intentional cause,” the minister added.
No Evidence of Deliberate Sabotage
Rouen’s public prosecutor, Sébastien Gallois, stated on September 12 that “at this stage, no element allows us to suggest an act of ‘malicious intent’ committed with the deliberate intention of derailing the train, and even less an ‘attack.'” He affirmed that the reasons for the rail fragment’s presence on the tracks remain “unknown.”
Complex Repair Operations
SNCF Réseau described the repair operations following the accident as “particularly complex.” Two cranes weighing 250 and 200 tons, along with 200 SNCF operators, were mobilized to lift and evacuate the train’s six cars.
The work also required completely renewing nearly 400 meters of track and replacing cabling and signaling equipment.
“Several catenary poles were torn down, the track and level crossing were damaged,” detailed Matthieu Chabanel, CEO of SNCF Réseau.
No additional information about the investigation opened by the Rouen prosecutor’s office has been released to date.
