A regional express train, known in France as a TER, derailed on Friday evening near Rouen after striking a piece of rail left on the tracks, prompting an investigation into possible malicious intent. The Rouen prosecutor's office urged caution on Saturday evening about drawing early conclusions on the cause of the crash.
Sebastien Gallois, the prosecutor of Rouen, said that at this stage nothing pointed to an act of malicious intent committed with the deliberate purpose of derailing the train, and even less to a terrorist attack.
Police were working through the site a full day after the crash, gathering evidence, examining leads and questioning witnesses as they tried to establish what had caused the derailment.
How the crash unfolded
The train that departed at 6:05pm on Friday completed the same Rouen-to-Caen journey without incident. But the following service, which left at 7:06pm, had travelled for only about twenty minutes when it reached the area near Cleon and the Renault factory.
The double train unit, travelling at 140 kilometres per hour, struck an object in a wooded stretch of track there. The lead carriage overturned down an embankment before the rest of the train passed over it.
A passenger described the moment in an account carried by the television report, saying the first thing they saw was the front carriage detaching completely, and that they did not even see it move sideways before it was simply torn away.
The suspected cause was a section of rail found at the scene. According to the broadcaster's own assessment, the piece measures around seven metres long and weighs just under 300 kilograms.
Investigation into possible sabotage
Amateur video filmed shortly after the derailment captured the shock of an SNCF worker at the scene, who was heard asking whether someone had put the rail on the track.
Investigators still need to determine what role the object played in the crash and who might have placed it there. Police will check whether extremist groups or a foreign power were involved, though the source article notes nothing currently points in that direction.
In 2024, shortly before the Paris Olympics, a wave of sabotage attacks disrupted four high-speed rail lines in France, an episode that has fuelled scrutiny of any new incident affecting the country's rail network.
Checks on the track and train
Investigators are also examining the age of the rolling stock and the track itself, though Arnaud Aymé, a transport specialist at the consultancy SIA Partners, said this was unlikely to be a major concern.
Aymé said that if the equipment or infrastructure were not recent or sufficiently maintained, that in itself should not create a safety problem. He said poorly maintained equipment is more likely to break down, and that when infrastructure is not well maintained, operators should lower the speed limit, but that none of this should translate into a danger for passengers.
SNCF Reseau, the state body that manages France's rail infrastructure, said the track was not undergoing any works at the time of the crash. The train itself belonged to a relatively recent batch, delivered from 2004 onwards.
The driver has five years of seniority but a good knowledge of the line, according to a union source. The prosecutor said the driver's alcohol and drug tests both came back negative.
The investigation into the cause of the derailment continues.
