Rail crossing safety questioned in France

The safety of rail crossings is being questioned in France. This follows a fatal collision involving a school bus and a train. Five of the children on the bus were killed in the crash, with another 18 people being injured, including 14 children. The bus had been carrying 20 children when it was involved in the collision with the train, at a crossing close to the Spanish border and around 18km west of Perpignan. The crossing is said to have been functioning correctly according to the French rail operator, SN
December 20, 2017 Read time: 1 min

The safety of rail crossings is being questioned in France. This follows a fatal collision involving a school bus and a train. Five of the children on the bus were killed in the crash, with another 18 people being injured, including 14 children. The bus had been carrying 20 children when it was involved in the collision with the train, at a crossing close to the Spanish border and around 18km west of Perpignan. The crossing is said to have been functioning correctly according to the French rail operator, SNCF. Following this collision there were 36 people killed in crashes at rail crossings in France during 2017, compared with 31 for 2016. However according to the Transport Ministry, human error is the cause of 98% of collisions at rail crossings.

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