Shots in a Thalys train stations Safety in question – Challenges.fr

The attack foiled a gunman aboard a Thalys raises the issue of security in railway stations and trains, complicated to make, while the actor Jean-Hugues Anglade accuses the agents of the train of have abandoned passengers Amsterdam-Paris train their fate. The Belgian government has decided from Saturday, August 22, hours after the attack, to strengthen security measures in trains and railway stations of the country. Control of reinforced luggage, intensified patrols in Thalys, but also in railway stations

Such measures are in effect decided by governments, not by the railways. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has announced that SNCF would “establish a national number for reporting abnormal situations”. The government reaffirmed “the full mobilization of government departments to ensure the safety of everyone in all parts of the country, especially in public transport”, including raising the maximum level Vigipirate in Ile-de-France since last January 7 and deadly attack against Charlie Hebdo. “A total of 30,000 policemen, gendarmes and soldiers assigned to protect sensitive than 5,000 locations across the country, including train stations and airports,” the government.

about 3,000 stations in France

Without dockside monitoring, the shooter was able to enter the Thalys with a veritable arsenal. Yet it seems unlikely that the stations that receive a flow of people 20 times that of airports, will also equip systematic security checks.

In France, gendarmes and soldiers roam the some 3,000 stations, weapon in hand. This is also the case in Britain, where members of the British Transport Police (BTP) are present at major stations, often armed. But our neighbors across the Channel do not experience either of the baggage check before boarding a train. Same in Switzerland or Germany where the Federal Police concluded in 2000 with Deutsche Bahn an agreement providing for exchange of information and video surveillance, and preventive actions. The Italian stations, known for their disorganization, submit the passengers since May 1 and from some major stations, to security checks before boarding.

Complicated places to manage

Only Spain, deeply marked by the attacks of 11 March 2004 in Madrid that killed 191 people and injured nearly 1,900 in four commuter trains, passenger baggage control long-distance trains, explained the Spanish public institution responsible for managing the rail network and security in stations, Administrador of infraestructuras FERROVIARIAS (ADIF).

Eurostar, SNCF subsidiary connecting Britain to France, also requests its passengers to arrive a half hour before the train leaves, and made them pass a security check as to the airport. But this is due, firstly, to identity checks to enter the UK, which is not part of the Schengen area, and the necessary safety measures before taking the Channel Tunnel.

“The stations are extremely complicated to manage places” because they are “old, much more open” as airports, said Marc Ivaldi, a researcher at the Industrial Economics Institute of Toulouse. Secure all stations? “In the very short term, it is strictly impossible,” he considers, saying the cost would be astronomical.

Indeed, the expenses related to the installation of barriers and other portals s’ add those induced by essential personnel so that travelers do not queue for hours before boarding. Marc Ivaldi believes however that “we can not do otherwise than to secure the Thalys and a number of TGV”.

The charge of Jean-Hugues Anglade

Car in trains, SNCF agents are not police mission, said the railway company. The actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who was traveling in the Thalys and was wounded by triggering the alarm, told Paris Match that he had the impression of being (“prisoner) of this train ( …) (trapped) in a mousetrap. ” He questioned the board staff, which, according to him, dropped the passengers.

But the direction of the Thalys contradicted, claiming that agents of the train where is the place armed attack, had alerted the driver, and that one of them was hiding with several passengers, adding that the French regulations, officers must first alert and stop the train.

The president of SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, said Saturday he would meet in the coming days the actor. “I proposed to meet Mr. Anglade, who said yes,” said the boss of the railway: “I understand the emotion, testimony, but to conclude, we must give ourselves the time to hear everyone. “

(With AFP)