 | This article needs to be updated. (July 2024) |
| Eckwersheim derailment | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rear power car of derailed train | |
  | |
| Details | |
| Date | 14 November 2015 15:05 (CET) |
| Location | Eckwersheim, Bas-Rhin |
| Coordinates | 48°41′25″N 7°42′19″E / 48.6902°N 7.7053°E |
| Country | France |
| Line | LGV Est phase 2 |
| Operator | SNCF |
| Incident type | Derailment |
| Cause | Excessive speed on curve due to late braking[1] |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 4[a] |
| Crew | 49[6][7] |
| Deaths | 11[3] |
| Injured | 42,[4] including 22 seriously injured[5] |
On 14 November 2015, a TGV train derailed in Eckwersheim, Alsace, France, while performing commissioning trials on the second phase of the LGV Est high-speed rail line, which was scheduled to open for commercial service five months later. The derailment resulted in 11 deaths and 42 injuries. It was the first fatal derailment in the history of the TGV and the third derailment since the TGV entered commercial service in 1981.[6][7][8]
The test train was traveling eastbound on the southern track when it entered a curve at 265 km/h (165 mph)—90 km/h (56 mph) over its assigned speed—causing the rear bogie of the lead engine to derail to the left (outside of curve) due to centrifugal forces. The lead engine separated from the rest of the train, and the rear of the lead engine struck the concrete parapet on the abutment to a bridge over the Marne–Rhine Canal. The engine slid along the left parapet of the bridge and overturned, sliding down the embankment and coming to rest 150 m (490 ft) beyond the end of the bridge. Cars 2–7 derailed before the bridge and travelled off the embankment with enough inertia to overshoot the canal, coming to rest 80–130 m (260–430 ft) beyond the beginning of the bridge.[9]: 21 Cars 8–9 came to rest on the east bank of the canal and the rear engine ended up partially submerged in the canal. According to investigators, late braking, which led to the train entering the curve at excessive speed, was the immediate cause of the accident. Criminal and technical investigations are ongoing[update]. French national rail operator SNCF suspended test trials at high speeds until the lessons learned from the investigation were integrated into the testing process. The scheduled opening of the second phase of the LGV Est for commercial service was delayed three months, from 3 April 2016 to 3 July 2016.[10]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
RG: Cause was late brakingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Onze morts à Eckwersheim, premiers éléments d'enquête". L'Alsace.fr (in French). 15 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "France TGV crash: Children on board derailed train". BBC News. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
DNA: Responsewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ BEATT (5 February 2016). "Note d'étape sur le déraillement de la rame d'essai de la LGV Est-Européenne survenu le 14 novembre 2015 à Eckwersheim" (PDF).
- ^ a b "French TGV high-speed train derails near Strasbourg". BBC News. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ^ a b Bach, Christian; Poivret, Aurélien (14 November 2015). "Accident de la rame d'essai de TGV : 10 morts, douze blessés dans un état grave, cinq personnes recherchées, numéro vert mis en place". Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (in French).
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Le Figaro: First fatal TGV accidentwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
SNCF report 19 Novwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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