Driver dies after Intercidades train hits car at Vila Nova da Barquinha level crossing

The collision

On Thursday evening, 8 October, an Intercidades train struck a car at a level crossing in Praia do Ribatejo, in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha, Santarém district. The alert reached authorities at 20:49, according to SIC Notícias, Notícias ao Minuto and Observador. SAPO reports that the car was dragged for dozens of metres by the train, leaving its driver trapped. Observador, citing the Vila Nova da Barquinha volunteer firefighters, says the vehicle ended up beneath the train on the bridge deck linking Praia do Ribatejo and Santa Margarida. A source at the Médio Tejo sub-regional command, cited by Observador, said the crossing was signposted. Reports differ on the direction of travel: Observador and JN describe the Entroncamento to Abrantes run, while SIC Notícias gives Entroncamento to Santarém.

Rescue and the driver's death

Firefighters, INEM medical teams, security forces and rail technicians responded to the scene. The rescue was slowed because the car lay under the train, and Observador reported that a second train would be needed to pull the locomotive off the vehicle before the victim could be reached. Firefighters were waiting for rail teams to cut the overhead power supply. Early reports from RTP and Observador said the driver's condition could not yet be confirmed. Jorge Gama, commander of the Vila Nova da Barquinha volunteer firefighters, later told SIC Notícias that the man had died at the scene.

So, unfortunately, we have a fatal victim.

Gama said a doctor and a nurse from the VMER Médio Tejo emergency unit verified the death on site. Elísio Pereira, operations officer at the national command of the Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil (ANEPC), had described the victim as the driver of the light passenger vehicle, which crossed the line at the level crossing in the Praia do Ribatejo parish. JN, citing SIC Notícias, reported that the man had died.

It is still not possible to confirm the state in which he finds himself.

Passengers and rail service

Pereira said all 117 passengers on the train were well and had been transferred to buses to continue to their destinations. Observador's live coverage described more than 100 passengers, none injured, continuing by bus. Rail traffic on the Beira Baixa line was halted in both directions, and Observador and JN gave no estimate for reopening. Staffing figures differ between reports: Observador and JN put 23 operatives and ten vehicles at the scene at the time of the alert, SIC Notícias recorded 30 operatives and ten vehicles at 23:15, and RTP reported 30 operatives and 13 vehicles. The timed beats from the reports are shown below.

What happens next

The circumstances that led to the collision will now be investigated by the competent authorities, according to SAPO. The Beira Baixa line remained closed while crews worked to remove the vehicle and assess the safety of the infrastructure, and no reopening date had been announced in the reports.