Two trams collided inside the tunnel beneath Strasbourg station on Saturday afternoon, causing dozens of injuries.
Firefighters reported around fifty minor injuries and a hundred uninjured passengers.
The public prosecutor announced the opening of an investigation into unintentional injuries to determine the cause of the accident and identify any potential criminal responsibility.
Interim Public Prosecutor Alexandre Chevrier stated that initial investigations ruled out the possibility of a deliberate act.
Green Mayor Jeanne Barseghian, who quickly arrived at the scene, said, "We know at this stage that there was a violent collision between two trams in the station tunnel."
She added, "It was a head-on collision due to one tram reversing, but the cause is unknown."
Patrick Maciejewski, President of the Strasbourg Transport Company (CTS), said, “We don’t know why — human error, equipment failure, all of that needs to be checked — the tram couldn’t stay stationary and reversed.”
The CTS indicated in a statement that it will take several days to restore tram services at this station.
Transport consultant at Wavestone, Julien Joly, noted that the accident occurred just before 4:00 pm "in the worst location on the network, in a tunnel in a very dense area beneath the square in front of Strasbourg station."
Joly mentioned that tram collisions are rare, typically involving other vehicles, not other trams.
He reassured users that "trams are a relatively safe mode of transport, running at a maximum speed of 70 km/h in obstacle-free areas, and limited to 30 km/h in city centres like Strasbourg."
A witness’s video shared on social media depicts a chaotic scene right after the accident, showing two severely damaged trams in the tunnel, with one appearing to have derailed due to the collision.
Strasbourg resumed tram services in 1994 as one of the first major French cities to do so. It has previously experienced an accident at the same location in October 1998, which injured 17 people due to excessive speed of one of the trams.
