Bourg-en-Bresse english summary

On Friday 9 October 2020, at 10:34 am, a regional express train (TER) coming from Bourg-en-Bresse (01) and going to Oyonnax (01) collided with a light vehicle on level crossing (LC) no. 7 in the commune of Bourg-en-Bresse (01).
This LC, which at the time of the accident was not included in the national safety programme, was equipped with automatic light and sound signals with two half-barriers.
The collision occurred while the TER was travelling at a speed of 100 km/h. The light vehicle was thrown more than 30 metres downstream of the railway line. Despite the violence of the impact, the train did not derail.
The two occupants of the car, the 71-year-old driver and the 72-year-old passenger, were killed instantly.
Eighteen passengers, one controller and one trainman were on board the train. No one was injured.

The direct cause of the accident was the stopping of the road vehicle on the railway line while the crossing was closed. The level crossing equipment functioned correctly, and nothing gathered during the judicial and technical investigations suggested that the driver of the light vehicle had acted intentionally.

It was not possible to determine whether the vehicle entered the crossing before the start of the closing sequence, during the closing sequence, or whether it had bypassed the half-barrier that was already in the down position. The reason for its stopping could not be established with certainty, the most likely hypothesis being a mechanical failure of the vehicle linked to its poor state of maintenance.
The analysis does not lead the BEA-TT to make any particular recommendation in relation to the circumstances of the accident. However, although this factor did not a priori play a role in the accident, it does make a recommendation concerning the improvement of the configuration of the LC and its surroundings.