It took the victims ten years to obtain a final decision. Tuesday, the court of cassation rejected the appeal of the SNCF which disputed its guilt in the train accident which occurred on October 12, 2011 in Saint-Médard-sur-Ille (Ille-et-Vilaine). Three people had been killed and about sixty injured in the collision between a TER and a truck which had remained stuck in the middle of the level crossing number 11 located between Rennes and Saint-Malo. Deemed dangerous, the crossing had been the scene of several accidents before the dramatic collision of 2011. The work carried out by the SNCF had been deemed insufficient by the French justice which had condemned the railway company, recognizing it guilty of “serious breaches”.
At first instance, SNCF Mobilité and SNCF Réseau (formerly RFF) were fined 300,000 euros each, before appealing the decision. In 2019, the Rennes Court of Appeal confirmed the conviction of a fine of 600,000 euros. The two entities had been ordered to compensate the families of the victims for the “exceptional damage of imminent death” and the “damage of anguish, expectation and worry”. Main responsible for the accident, the truck driver was sentenced to three years in prison. “They wanted us to believe that this accident was the driver’s sole fault. At the trial, the prosecutor wanted to pass him off as a cannabis user. This rejection of the appeal shows that SNCF is guilty. She has always been in denial. She can no longer say that she is not responsible, ”says Lionel Labourdette.
“I am now waiting for the president of the SNCF to apologize”
The president of the Solidarité PN11 association had seen his wife be seriously injured in the accident. His family, like many others, expresses the “relief” to see the case finally definitively judged. A new hearing on the civil interests of the victims is due to be held in May. Even ten years after the accident, many families have not been fully compensated by SNCF.
In Saint-Médard-sur-Ille, the dangerous level crossing has been permanently closed, in favor of a viaduct passing over the railway tracks. The victims of the accident now hope that the tragedy they suffered will help the other victims. “I am now waiting for the president of the SNCF to apologize. But he never will. SNCF is a repeat offender thug who has always denied his responsibilities. Justice has just reminded him that when a risk is identified, it has no right to ignore it, ”asserts Lionel Labourdette. The president of the association thinks of the victims of Allinges, where seven schoolchildren were killed in 2008, or Brétigny-sur-Orge, which killed seven in 2013.