Regional train derails near Cléon in Normandy, injuring 44 passengers

Incident on the Rouen-Caen line

A regional TER train carrying 186 passengers derailed near the town of Cléon in the Seine-Maritime department on Friday evening at approximately 19:30. The service was operating along the mainline connection between Rouen and Caen in northwest France when it struck an obstruction on the track. The collision caused five carriages to derail from the track bed, with one carriage rolling onto its side. Emergency personnel reported 44 injured passengers across the train. An 18-year-old passenger was admitted to hospital in critical condition immediately following the accident, but Rouen public prosecutor Sébastien Gallois confirmed on Saturday that her condition had stabilized and her life was no longer in danger.

Passenger accounts from the carriages

Passengers inside the carriages described intense shaking and rapid deceleration prior to the carriages leaving the rails. Louis, a 24-year-old passenger, recounted feeling vibrations intensify before he was thrown from his seat during the collision.

The windows partially shattered, the stones from the track bed flew into the carriage. It was really shocking.

Another traveller, Vincent, stated that the incident initially felt like an emergency braking maneuver before the carriages began vibrating violently over track ballast. He reported seeing another derailed carriage slide past his window as dust and debris filled the interior.

Our window shattered, smoke rose and suitcases were flying around.

Vincent added that passengers had to pry open an exit door to escape the wreckage, as no onboard train crew were visible in their carriage after the impact.

Emergency deployment and rescue operations

The emergency response brought extensive personnel to the derailment site in Seine-Maritime. More than 130 firefighters, 50 police officers and 80 emergency vehicles deployed to secure the train and treat injured passengers. Infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau cut electrical power along the line to enable responders to work safely near the overturned carriage. Municipal authorities in Cléon opened a local hall to receive uninjured passengers who had evacuated the train. Mélanie Delacour, the mayor of Cléon, noted that the surviving travellers arrived in a state of severe shock. Police carried out mandatory alcohol and narcotics testing on the train driver, with both screenings returning negative results.

Investigation and political reactions

Early investigative attention centered on a track component weighing between 250 and 300 kilograms discovered lying across the rails. Normandy Regional President Hervé Morin asserted that the obstruction was a criminal act, emphasizing that another train had negotiated the exact stretch of line one hour earlier without incident and that no railway maintenance had taken place during the intervening hour. Nice Mayor Éric Ciotti also labeled the crash the result of an attack and called for firm judicial punishment. However, public prosecutor Sébastien Gallois rejected assertions of terrorism on Saturday, stating that no evidence supported claims of sabotage.

There are no indications pointing to an attack.

Gallois explained that investigators are working to determine how the rail section ended up on the line while establishing that no signs of malice currently exist. SNCF Réseau announced that train services began resuming on Saturday after preliminary track inspections concluded.