Train Accident in France Claimed The Lives of Many Soldiers

The train was carrying over 1,000 French soldiers, some estimates claimed as many as 1,200 were crammed into the overcrowded train. The soldiers were returning from Turin in Italy to Lyon in France for Christmas leave. The route took them through the mountains of the Alps. Too many coaches were attached to the single locomotive and the engineer protested at this and refused to leave Turin. The danger was not that the single locomotive could pull the 19 cars behind it but that it would not be able to stop as 16 of the coaches were not fitted with brakes.

One senior French officer, anxious to get his men home for Christmas threatened to shoot the engineer if he did not climb aboard the train and begin the journey. Eventually with the threat of being killed by one of his own countrymen the engineer agreed. Unfortunately for most of those on board the train his concerns were valid. As the train emerged from the Mount Cern tunnel and into France it approached the town of Modane. It had a steep descent, the brakes were ineffective against the weight of the overcrowded cars and it was soon out of control careering down the hill. Close to the bottom was a wooden bridge and it was here that the train shot off the rails. Most of the coaches were made of wood and as they piled on top of one another, they caught fire.

The death toll was estimated at between 500 and 800. The heat of the fire was so intense that at least 400 of those killed were burnt beyond recognition. The French army attempted to cover up the full details of the tragedy because of its implications for the French officers. The engineer who was one of the survivors released the full details of the story 15 years after the event.