Nine years after the Brétigny-sur-Orge rail disaster, which killed seven people and injured dozens, the trial opens on Monday before the Evry criminal court.
Here are the main dates of the investigation into this disaster in which one of the railway workers is tried for homicide and involuntary injuries.
Derailment – July 12, 2013
On July 12, 2013 at the end of the afternoon, the Paris Limoges train derailed at Brétigny-sur-Orge station while traveling at 137 km/h, below the authorized limit on this section (150 kph).
The accident killed seven people and injured several dozen, on board the train or on the platform.
The next day, an SNCF official estimated that a fishplate, a kind of metal clip connecting two rails in a switch, would have come off, causing the derailment.
The SNCF announces the control of the 5,000 similar parts of its network.
Three open investigations – July 24, 2013
Three investigations have been opened: one internal to SNCF and Réseau Ferré de France (RFF), one from the Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA-TT), attached to the Ministry of Transport, and a judicial one opened by the public prosecutor's office in Evry.
On July 24, the Evry prosecutor's office announced that the investigation for homicides and involuntary injuries had been entrusted to three investigating judges, and said that the tilting of the splint "seems to be at the origin of the disaster".
Maintenance “Deficit” – July 10, 2014
An SNCF investigation report revealed in September that one of the four bolts holding the splint was missing, probably well before the disaster.
A visual examination of this room had taken place on July 4, but had found nothing abnormal.
In a progress report published on January 10, 2014, the BEA-TT calls into question the maintenance rules in force at the SNCF, which led to the failure to notice the failures.
The legal experts noted in July a “deficit” of maintenance and confirmed that “it was indeed the tilting of a splint” which caused the disaster.
Indictments – September 18, 2015
In September 2014, SNCF and RFF were indicted for manslaughter and involuntary injury.
In November, a report produced at the request of the unions pointed to a drop in the number of track surveillance officers "greater than elsewhere" in the Brétigny area, and an "organizational dysfunction".
The SNCF disputes the figures, according to it "parcel and approximate".
The BEA's final report, published on September 18, 2015, once again points the finger at maintenance at the SNCF.
In January 2016, an additional expert report submitted to the judges concluded that "effective monitoring would undoubtedly have made it possible" to avoid the disaster.
“Unpredictable” according to the SNCF – February 29, 2016
The SNCF denounces "inconsistencies" in this expertise and requests new analyzes, now evoking an "unpredictable" derailment, in a letter to the judges on February 29, 2016. A new expertise submitted to the judges on April 22 indicates that three of the four bolts retaining the splint in question had broken or unscrewed well before the accident, supporting the hypothesis of a lack of maintenance.
A counter-expertise, carried out at the request of the SNCF, again concluded in July 2018 that the disaster was caused by the "obsoleteness" of the rails, and not by an unforeseeable defect in the steel.
However, the SNCF maintains two months later, on the strength of a new report it commissioned from an independent expert, that the disaster was an “unforeseeable” accident.
Railway worker also prosecuted – January 9, 2019
On January 9, 2019, an SNCF employee, who was at the head of a brigade responsible for inspecting the tracks, was indicted for homicide and involuntary injuries.
On June 12, 2020, this railway worker, SNCF Mobilités and SNCF Réseau (which succeeded RFF) were sent back to correctional.
The trial is due to start on Monday and last until June 17.
Justice
Trial of the Brétigny disaster: Nine years after the tragedy, victims in search of truth
Justice
Derailment of a train in Brétigny-sur-Orge: SNCF and a railway worker sent back to correctional
Justice
Bretigny-sur-Orge
Accident
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