Montauban english summary

At 18:13 9 December 2014, regional express train No. 871833 travelling on railway line 640000 from Bordeaux-Saint-Jean to Sète-Ville and providing the service from Agen to Toulouse-Matabiau collided with a lorry on level crossing No. 169 mentioned above located in the municipality of Montauban, which allows road vehicles travelling on the Chemin du Quart to cross the railway lines.
Following the accident, 12 people were admitted to ER, including the train driver and the lorry driver. None of these 12 people were hospitalised.

The direct and immediate cause of the accident was the fact that two heavy goods vehicles crossed on level crossing No. 169, which was too narrow and prevented the lorry hit by the train from moving. The other lorry involved managed to move clear of the level crossing before the train arrived.
The main factor which contributed to the situation was the fact that vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes were travelling on the Chemin du Quart despite the regulatory prohibition.

In view of these factors, BEA-TT recommended :

• that the City of Montauban should bring the police signs prohibiting vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes from using the Chemin du Quart into compliance with the regulations ;
• that the City of Montauban should remove the “residents only” signs on the B13 panels on the Chemin du Quart, possibly replacing them with “authorised vehicles only” signs ;
• that the City of Montauban and SNCF should use all appropriate means to prevent heavy goods vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes from using level crossing No. 169 or to widen level crossing No. 169 and its immediate surroundings by at least 5 to 6 metres.

Without making any formal recommendation, BEA-TT drew the attention of road transport carriers and drivers to the importance for safety of carefully preparing their journeys, identifying the most suitable routes for the characteristics of their vehicles and anticipating any difficulties that could be encountered.

• SNCF to provide professional training organisations with illustrations of the mechanical behaviour of level crossing barriers following contact with a heavy goods vehicle ;
• the developer of the Boulevard Urbain Ouest [West Urban Boulevard] project to implement this project up to the last project section located furthest to the south ;
• SNCF Réseau to make an accurate estimation of the impact on traffic on the Chemin du Quart of the future construction of the high-speed Bordeaux-Toulouse railway line and its connecting road developments in case the Boulevard Urbain Ouest is not fully completed at the time of commissioning ;
• the City of Montauban to bring the police signs into compliance with the orders issued in relation to the speed limit on the Chemin du Quart ;
• SNCF, in cooperation with the city of Montauban, to carry out a full safety diagnosis of the level crossing on the basis of a given traffic moment updated with recent traffic data and a speed limit over the level crossing in accordance with the order of the City of Montauban in force (70 km/h, not 90 km/h)