The Evry court sentenced the SNCF and relaxed SNCF Network and a former railway worker, nine years after the derailment of a train at Brétigny-sur-Orge (Essonne) station, which had killed seven people and made hundreds of wounded.
Le Monde with AFP
After seven years of investigation and eight weeks of trial, the verdict fell. The Evry court recognized, Wednesday, October 26, the SNCF as the only guilty of unintentional homicides and injuries, nine years after the derailment of a train at Brétigny-sur-Orge (Essonne) station, which had killed seven people And made hundreds of injured and traumatized. SNCF Réseau and an old railroader were released.
Friday, July 12, 2013, at 5:10 p.m., a steel hatch, a sort of big clip joining two rails, had disassembled, causing the derailment of the Paris-Limoges intercités train. A seven -year investigation followed to study the causes of the accident, and finally lead to a trial for involuntary injury and involuntary homicides.
For eight weeks, from April 25 to June 17, the court tried to uncover the possible responsibilities of the SNCF (prosecuted as criminal heiress of SNCF Infra, in charge of maintenance at the time of the accident), SNCF Réseau (ex-Réseau Ferré de France, channel manager) and an old railway worker, Laurent Waton, young local director who had produced the last surveillance tour.
This river trial was “a test for the victims,” said Alexandre Varaut, who defends fifteen civil parties on the more than two hundred recorded.
Five weeks were devoted to technical debates. The court also heard the testimonies of the civil parties at length. At the end of the debates, the prosecutor Rodolphe Juy-Burmann had asked to condemn the SNCF, in charge of maintenance, to the maximum fine.