In France, TGV Test Train Catches Fire, Derails, Killing 10 (mirror.co.uk)

McGruber writes with the Mirror's report that: Earlier today in Eckwersheim, France, TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) 2369 Test Train caught fire, derailed and overturned. Two carriages were partially submerged into a river and at least five people were killed. As of now, there are no direct links with the terrorist attacks on Paris and the train crash does not appear to have been caused deliberately. A TGV test train holds the record for the fastest wheeled train, having reached 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on 3 April 2007. Today's derailment appears to have been the first fatal crash of a TGV while running at high speed.
NBC News reports that 10 people were killed, all employees of the French national railway system.

Comments

Re:Not an accident?

[gweihir]

No. This was a track-test. No passengers aboard. Not a worthwhile target, just incompetent engineers. And, ironically, attacking a train track is far more difficult than the amateur-level attacks in Paris. The problem is just that a city like Paris cannot be defended against attacks by a very small group, even if that small group is terminally incompetent. Pointing a gun at people and shooting is easy and doing in in several places is so too.

The other, far more serious problem, is that those in power are incompetent at handling the situation. The only way to decrease terrorism is to give them minimal attention, thus denying them what they crave. Instead they get bombastic media attention and a lot of security theater like the "closing" of borders, increased "security" measures and generally telling them that they did well and everybody is impressed by them (in a negative way, but still). As there is no possible way to defend a city like Paris, that is about th worst and least sophisticated reaction possible.