Pécrot rail crash
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The Pécrot rail crash was a
rail accident Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail (and other) accidents to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the r ...
in the village of Pécrot (part of the municipality of Grez-Doiceau), Belgium, that occurred on 27 March 2001 when two passenger trains collided head-on.Lungescu, Oana.
Crash Railmen Spoke Different Languages
BBC World News -Europe website, 30 March 2001. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
BBC World News
Belgian Crash 'Was Avoidable'
BBC World News -Europe website, 28 March 2001. . Retrieved 4 November 2010.
The crash left 8 dead and 12 injured and was Belgium's worst rail disaster in a quarter of a century.


Timeline of events

* 08:41 — In Wavre station, a
signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...
noticed an empty passenger train departing from Track No. 4 against a red signal, towards
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
. * 08:42 — The Wavre signalman contacted the Leuven signalman, to inform him about the train. However, the Wavre signalman spoke only
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
while the Leuven signalman spoke only Dutch, so the latter did not understand the message fully. * 08:43 — The Wavre signalman tried to have the overhead wire current cut off on the erroneously departed train's track. Whenever the power on the overhead wire is cut for more than 20 seconds, the train driver is required by operational rules to recognise this as an emergency situation and start a procedure to bring his train to a halt as soon as possible. However, that could not be done from Wavre. The signalman had to contact the Electrical Current Controller in Brussels about the problem. * 08:46 — The Brussels controller tried to contact the driver of the train, but was unable to reach him. The Brussels controller also tried to contact the driver of a passenger train that had just departed from Leuven towards Wavre, traveling on the same track as the other train, in the opposite direction. Again, the controller failed to reach the driver. The area where the accident happened is quite remote, with heavy vegetation and terrain further impacting train radio reception. * 08:47 — The overhead wire current was cut off, which is a last resort measure to have all impacted train drivers stop their trains as per the operational rules, but unfortunately too late. * 08:50 — The two trains collided head-on in the village of Pécrot. 8 people were killed, including both drivers, and 12 were injured.


Causes

The accident had two main causes. The first was the inexperience of the driver of the train which departed from Wavre. The train had stopped with the driver's cab past the signal, so the driver could not see that the signal was red when he departed. The other cause was the language barrier between the signalmen at the Wavre and Leuven cabins. Both French and Dutch are official languages in Belgium, and rail staff were only required to speak one.
NMBS/SNCB french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government o ...
, the Belgian national railway company, admitted that the accident was caused solely by human error. Judge Philippe Ridelle presided the trial and pronounced the sentence.


See also

* List of railway stations in Belgium * List of rail accidents (2000–2009)


References


External links


BBC News report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pecrot rail crash Railway accidents in 2001 2001 disasters in Belgium Railway accidents and incidents in Belgium Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger History of Walloon Brabant Grez-Doiceau Accidents and incidents involving SNCB Linguistic controversies Linguistic error Failure Interpersonal communication March 2001 events in Europe