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SNCF

Marseille train crash leaves dozens injured

A regional train collided with a construction vehicle at a level crossing near Marseille on Tuesday leaving 31 people injured, one of them seriously.

Marseille train crash leaves dozens injured
The scene of the crash on Tuesday. Photo: Anne Christine Poujoulat/AFP

The accident occurred at around 8.40 am on a stretch of line between Miramas and Marseille centre, in the northern 16th arrondissement of the Meditterranean city, according to train operator SNCF.

According to initial reports the train collided with a crane on top of the vehicle, which caused the crane to collapse and embed itself into one of the train's carriages. The driver of the train managed to escape unhurt but was left in shock, French media reported.

The truck-driver, aged in his 40s, was more seriously injured and evacuated to a nearby hospital, where he is not reported to be in a life-threatening condition, according to regional daily La Provence.

Of the 75 passengers on board, 31 were injured, with the vast majority suffering bruises and shock from the sudden impact of the crash. They were transported by bus and other non-emergency means to a local hospital, according to reports by La Provence and French television TF1.

One passenger described two impacts – one from the initial collision between the train and construction vehicle, and a second from the collapsed crane entering the train's first carriage.

"One woman found herself with the crane practically at her knees. She thought she was going to die," the passenger was quoted as saying by La Provence.

Another testified to the frightening ordeal. "Some people were crying, and others were in shock. I was on a fold-up seat, so [upon impact] I slumped to the ground, and hurt my wrists."

Speculation over the cause of the accident continued on Tuesday afternoon, with the RFF rail company (Réseau ferré de France) claiming that at the time of the crash, traffic signals at the level crossing were working properly.

The company also claimed that barriers at the crossing were fully functional, and that the train tracks had recently been changed, according to TF1.

The local police's criminal and safety division is pursuing the possibility that the driver of the truck was on the phone at the time of the collision, after allegedly finding his mobile phone close to the scene of the crash, according to La Provence.

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ENVIRONMENT

French trains ditch plastic water bottles

French national train operator SNCF has announced it will no longer sell water in plastic bottles on its services, saying the move would reduce the waste from roughly two million drinks.

French train bars will no longer be able to see plastic bottles of water.
French train bars will no longer be able to see plastic bottles of water. Photo: BERTRAND LANGLOIS / AFP.

The plastic packaging will be replaced with recyclable cardboard for still water and aluminium for sparkling.

“Plastic is no longer fantastic,” head of consumer travel operations at the SNCF, Alain Krakovitch, wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

France has gradually increased restrictions on single-use packaging to help reduce waste amid growing evidence about the impact of plastic on sea life in particular.

The government announced on Monday that plastic packaging will be banned for nearly all fruit and vegetables from January next year.

The environment ministry said that 37 percent of fruit and vegetables were sold with plastic packaging, and only the most fragile produce such as strawberries will be given an exemption on the ban until 2026.

“We use an outrageous amount of single-use plastic in our daily lives,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was working to cut back “the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging.”

Last year, France passed a wide-ranging “circular economy” law to combat waste that forbids retailers from destroying unsold clothes and will ban all single-use plastic containers by 2040.

Paris city authorities announced this week that they were aiming to eliminate all plastic from state day-care centres, canteens and retirement homes by 2026.

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