SNCF Réseau fined 225,000 euros for manslaughter after the death of a railway worker hit by a train

A maintenance worker was fatally hit by a train during an intervention in 2016, when visibility was very poor.

SNCF Réseau, manager of the French rail network, was fined 225,000 euros for “manslaughter”. This decision follows the death of a railway worker hit by a train during an intervention in Nancy in 2016, AFP learned from the civil party’s lawyer on Thursday February 1.

José Garcia, on-call maintenance agent on the evening of December 6, 2016, was working around 11 p.m., in the dark, at 0°C and with thick mist, when he crossed the track and was hit by a train. He died instantly.

A lack of training

The SNCF specifies, in its regulations, that the presence of an announcer is obligatory when the operation takes place in a dangerous zone, on the tracks, and is not the rest of the time. But “at 11 p.m., you have to have that in mind”was surprised by the lawyer for the civil party, who in his pleading pointed out a “neglect” of the SNCF and “shortcomings” in terms of security.

The question of SNCF employees’ knowledge of safety rules was one of the subjects at the heart of the trial. A report from Direccte, the labor inspectorate, noted that agents had not received specific training on this point for several years. During the hearing, the victim’s widow deplored that the SNCF had not changed its safety procedures since the accident.