Due to a suspicious odor, the activity of the Sibelin marshalling yard in Feyzin, near Lyon (Rhône) was stopped for several hours this Sunday. At the end of the morning, staff had detected a strong odor near a train carrying LPG gas, we learned from the prefecture.
Precautionary measures were quickly taken to guarantee the safety of goods and people. SNCF agents were confined, electricity was cut and train traffic partially interrupted.
In the heart of the chemistry valley
About twenty firefighters, including the cell specializing in measuring explosiveness and toxic products, were mobilized on site. “The different series of explosimetry and toxicity measurements have turned out to be negative,” indicates the Rhône Prefecture. After all doubts were raised, site operations were able to resume at 1:30 p.m.
Sibelin station, although it is not classified as a Seveso site, is located in the heart of the Vallée de la Chimie. The site is one of the most important in France for the transit of hazardous materials. About 200 wagons pass through it every day. In September 2020, the Lyon administrative court considered that the State services had “badly appreciated” the dangerousness of this marshalling yard, considering that the measures to protect the population were insufficient and that the studies carried out by the SNCF were incomplete.