MJC-31A Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I was browsing the La Depeche newspaper site and I came across this news item. From the photos it looks like the lorry was completing its sharp turn immediately after having crossed the tracks, when the barriers started descending and caught the rear of the trailer. It really looks a tight squeeze to make that turn. I assume that as most of the damage was to just the driving car of the TGV it must have almost come to a stop after braking. I presume any signals protecting the crossing were showing red. http://www.ladepeche.fr/diaporama/un-tgv-percute-un-poids-lourd-a-tarbes/1602649-image16525017.html I cannot find an associated descriptive news item to accompany the photos, It may be my french search query is not up to scratch Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted July 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 19, 2014 I was browsing the La Depeche newspaper site and I came across this news item. From the photos it looks like the lorry was completing its sharp turn immediately after having crossed the tracks, when the barriers started descending and caught the rear of the trailer. It really looks a tight squeeze to make that turn. I assume that as most of the damage was to just the driving car of the TGV it must have almost come to a stop after braking. I presume any signals protecting the crossing were showing red. http://www.ladepeche.fr/diaporama/un-tgv-percute-un-poids-lourd-a-tarbes/1602649-image16525017.html I cannot find an associated descriptive news item to accompany the photos, It may be my french search query is not up to scratch Martin Surely in the UK with an awkward road approach/leaving the crossing it would require a telephone and the following would apply? "Railway telephones. If you are driving a large or slow- moving vehicle, a long, low vehicle with a risk of grounding, or herding animals, a train could arrive before you are clear of the crossing. You MUST obey any sign instructing you to use the railway telephone to obtain permission to cross. You MUST also telephone when clear of the crossing if requested to do so. Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 16(1)" Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Signals don't protect crossings in France. The bell rings and the gates go down and train will normally go through after 30 seconds or so. I've always wondered how many accidents they have on crossings in France considering how many occur over here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Signals don't protect crossings in France. The bell rings and the gates go down and train will normally go through after 30 seconds or so. I've always wondered how many accidents they have on crossings in France considering how many occur over here. Exactly the same as an automatic crossing in the UK. As to how many level crossing 'accidents' they have in France... From the RFF web-site "148 collisions dont 29 tués et 19 blessés graves en 2013". ('148 collisions, including 29 fatalities and 19 serious injuries'- note that, because of the system of recording fatalities in France, it is only deaths on site that count) I'm struggling to find UK figures for the same period in the UK, but the average fatality figures seem to be about half those in France. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubber Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 ...and they don't fence every foot [sorry, metre] of track either. O/T On French motoways they don't even have cat's eyes, just white lines. Mentioning this to a French police officer chum and asking the raison d'etre [that's French for 'raison d'etre] he said words to the effect 'If you can not see the road markings you are going too fast...' I can't say I've lamented the noisy, bumpy things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Focalplane Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 The main reason for delays on the line between Montpellier and Nimes seems to be accidents at level crossings, at least from my limited experience as a frequent traveler. The town of Lunel comes to mind as the most frequent area for accidents. The population density is high there and there are numerous crossings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 The main reason for delays on the line between Montpellier and Nimes seems to be accidents at level crossings, at least from my limited experience as a frequent traveler. The town of Lunel comes to mind as the most frequent area for accidents. The population density is high there and there are numerous crossings. And the Cave Co-operative is next to one of them... When SNCF demonstrated their Excalibur incident management tool to us, this was the location of the 'incident' they set up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Focalplane Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 ...and they don't fence every foot [sorry, metre] of track either. My favorite photo spot near Nissan (which has yet to feature on my Sud de France post) consists of a vigneron's road alongside the mainline. The road is so close to the tracks there is no room for the catenary posts, which gives a nice clear shot of the trains going by. Just beyond the train is a grade crossing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Google just found me a simple comparison of level crossing fatalities by country from 2010: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/mar/10/level-cross-accident-statistics There'll be more recent figures on the RSSB or DfT websites. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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