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French derailment near Rouen 12/9: sabotage?
- Thread starter AndrewE
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RailUK Forums
A 5m length of rail was found lying along the four-foot, and the driver reported seeing what looked like this. The investigators are trying to pin down where it was when the train got there. But while they have taken the "black box" recorder, I have heard no mention on TV news of checking the forward-facing TV recordings. In past accidents I have been surprised that some quite modern French trains don't have these. So could that be true of the X76500 AGC units involved here?
And the connection (apart from geography)?
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
However I'm not forgetting https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-every-complex-problem-there-is-an-answer-that-7464/
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong"
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renegademaster
Established Member
Could it not be what's happened a few times here where a possession wasn't able to clean up properly and left rail where it could cause a collision. Theirs 1000s of long sections of rail scattered across Britain sitting strewn across the trackbed.
That doesn't rule out something deliberate, and with so much scrap lying about everywhere it's not exactly hard for 2 people (even some bored kids) to cause havoc
That doesn't rule out something deliberate, and with so much scrap lying about everywhere it's not exactly hard for 2 people (even some bored kids) to cause havoc
Alpine Rider
Member
Media in France goes a bit further reporting a train passed the area without incident an hour before, and reporting that no track maintenance staff were working in the area. Whilst a minor passenger route it carries a fair bit of freight. Whilst I admire skepticsm this incident does not appear to be an isolated one, indeed just one of an entire waddling of ducks...
Sadly if you know where to look, gullible fools are being actively enticed and offered rewards to carry out such actions. Last week media in the Haute Savoie reported someone damaged one leg of a high voltage power line pylon supplying power to two industrial areas. Whilst the tower was left leaning at a jaunty angle this resulted in cables touching and blacked out power for two days. Towers do not just fall over, and unaided quarter tonne sections of rails do not leap up of their own accord and reposition themselves to derail trains...
Anyone reading a wide range of media reporting in Europe it is clear there has been a noticeable increase in serious "vandalism" this year. This is way beyond kids placing the odd coin on a rail track.
Sadly if you know where to look, gullible fools are being actively enticed and offered rewards to carry out such actions. Last week media in the Haute Savoie reported someone damaged one leg of a high voltage power line pylon supplying power to two industrial areas. Whilst the tower was left leaning at a jaunty angle this resulted in cables touching and blacked out power for two days. Towers do not just fall over, and unaided quarter tonne sections of rails do not leap up of their own accord and reposition themselves to derail trains...
Anyone reading a wide range of media reporting in Europe it is clear there has been a noticeable increase in serious "vandalism" this year. This is way beyond kids placing the odd coin on a rail track.
Ploughman
Established Member
For general vandalism the long sections of loose rail would not be the main problem, it's the man handle able lengths that pose the biggest risk
Totally agree.
Official statements are now very cautious, saying nothing is known for for certain, but that's just the rule with a police/judicial investigation. These are also, in theory, strictly confidential, but do tend to leak evidence - statements, confessions, expert reports, etc. - to an extent that is unthinkable in the UK.
Recent TV pictures show the famous length of rail in the four foot, and "tens" of smaller pieces of track scattered about. Here the prosecutor was a bit more forthcoming, saying they appeared to have been piled on the loose rail. Some pieces are identifiable, as fishplates, some not. That looks to me like both childish playing about and a serious attempt to harm someone, somewhere.
He also referred to TV cameras, the first mention I have seen, but "in the carriages", which sounds like internal CCTV rather than forward-facing. So that remains a non-barking dog.
Recent TV pictures show the famous length of rail in the four foot, and "tens" of smaller pieces of track scattered about. Here the prosecutor was a bit more forthcoming, saying they appeared to have been piled on the loose rail. Some pieces are identifiable, as fishplates, some not. That looks to me like both childish playing about and a serious attempt to harm someone, somewhere.
He also referred to TV cameras, the first mention I have seen, but "in the carriages", which sounds like internal CCTV rather than forward-facing. So that remains a non-barking dog.