SNCF traffic: 500 passengers stranded for 2 hours because of a truck stuck on a bridge – LaDepeche.fr

An oversized Spanish heavyweight paralyzed SNCF traffic on the Toulouse-Bordeaux axis, this Wednesday evening. The truck got stuck on a stone bridge that spans the railway at Bessens in the Tarn-et-Garonne.

The truck driver should not have taken the bridge because of its size – too wide to cross the bridge limited to 3.5 tonnes – and found himself stuck. He then tried to get out on his own by maneuvering. The metal parapets of the bridge risk collapsing on the track below, the SNCF decided to stop traffic on this axis as a safety measure.

“It’s a truck coming out of the Novacoop cooperative loaded with apples. Precisely, in this direction, there is a sign prohibiting turning left that the driver did not respect. He should have turned at right to reach the village of Bessens”, explains Marie-Claude Nègre, president of the community of communes Grand Sud Tarn-et-Garonne.

About 500 passengers stranded

Consequence of this stoppage of traffic: six TER were stopped at the station in the direction Montauban-Toulouse and Toulouse-Montauban. They carried about five hundred passengers. The people were mainly employees returning from work and young customers during this school holiday period. On the other hand, no TGV was impacted. Passengers were stranded for about 2 hours.

SNCF has set up replacement buses as soon as possible to evacuate stranded customers. Other passengers were able to continue their journey at reduced speed in the evening. Bottles of water were available for passengers who wanted it.

A crane mobilized to evacuate the heavy weight

In its maneuver to get free, the heavyweight damaged three of its axles, which complicated the operations to evacuate it from the bridge. A specialized crane arrived on site around 9:30 p.m. to lift the heavy weight. The truck was secured on the bridge and was to be evacuated after the last train passed at 11:45 p.m.

SNCF provides The Dispatch that there are “no problems with the structure of the bridge” damaged at Bessens and that trains can again pass under it in complete safety. The technical services of the community of communes will examine the bridge this Thursday morning. “We may ask for an expertise. All precautions will be taken before restoring road traffic,” says Marie-Claude Nègre, president of the community of municipalities. The bridge had undergone consolidation work a few months ago.

SNCF traffic has been possible again since 10 p.m. this Wednesday evening. It should be able to resume at normal speed this Thursday morning.