Close Shave For A TGV Near Toulouse

[Thames99]

There were severe storms in south west France at the beginning of the week with sadly some people drowned in their cars. This article

‘Violent, vicious’ thunderstorms sweep southeastern France, three dead

At least three people died, including a couple in their eighties, whose vehicle was swept away by floodwaters after severe thunderstorms hit southeast France on Tuesday. Heavy rain a day earlier forced…

www.france24.com

has details and some photos including this one of a TGV on track with the embankment and ballast completely washed away. Possibly there was a speed limit in force due to the weather as I can't imagine the train staying on the rails if it was travelling at any speed. Several hundred passengers were evacuated by bus.

 

[Beebman]

Video report from AFP posted a couple of days ago (without any commentary) which includes some close-up shots of the track hanging in mid-air:

(click on the 'Watch on YouTube' link above to play the video)

Google translation of the video description:

In Tonneins, in the Lot-et-Garonne region, a railway line collapsed due to hailstorms and heavy rain that hit the southwest on Monday evening, causing the emergency shutdown of a TGV train with 500 people on board.

 

[MarcVD]

As far as I understood correctly, the train encountered an automatic signal at danger and therefore proceeded with "driving on sight" as prescribed by the rulebook. This explains that it was going slowly and remained on the rails.