Prosecutors on Monday called for substantial penalties in the trial of the French national railway company SNCF and some of its employees over the derailment of a TGV test train in Alsace some eight years ago that killed 11 and left 42 injured.
The prosecution demanded a two-year suspended prison sentence for the railway employee in the driver's cab of the high-speed TGV responsible for determining the braking point and a one-year suspended prison sentence for the train driver, the broadcaster France Info and the newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace reported from the Paris courtroom.
The accident occurred on November 14, 2015.
According to the prosecution, SNCF is to pay a fine of €400,000 ($431,500) and two of its subsidiaries €300,000 and €225,000 respectively.
The SNCF, along with two subsidiaries and three employees, must stand trial in court for negligent homicide and personal injury. This includes the train driver who failed to slow down the train in time, resulting in it entering a bend at excessive speed.
The test train, which was carrying railway staff, technicians and guests, derailed and crashed partly into the Rhine-Marne Canal.
At the time, preparations were underway for the commissioning of the second section of the high-speed line from Paris to Strasbourg.
On the day of the accident, the train was supposed to travel faster than in regular service due to a test run. A safety system that would typically have forced the train to slow down before the curve had been turned off for the test.
Instead of the permitted speed of 176 kilometres per hour, the train reached the bend at 265 kilometres per hour.
The judgement in the trial with 89 joint plaintiffs is expected beginning on Thursday.