The decision in the trial of the Brétigny-sur-Orge (Essonne) rail disaster in 2013, which left seven dead and several hundred physically and psychologically injured, will be rendered on October 26 by the Evry criminal court.
Since April 25, SNCF, SNCF Réseau (ex-RFF) and a former railway executive have been tried for manslaughter and involuntary injury.
Read alsoBrétigny rail accident: maximum sentence required against the SNCF
On Wednesday, prosecutor Rodolphe Juy-Birmann demanded the maximum penalty (450,000 euros fine) for the SNCF, prosecuted as criminal heiress of SNCF Infra, responsible for maintenance at the time of the train derailment.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, requested the release of the two other defendants: the track manager, SNCF Réseau, and a former railway executive Laurent Waton.
On July 12, 2013, the disassembly of a fishplate - a sort of large staple connecting two rails - caused the derailment of an Intercités train at Brétigny-sur-Orge station (Essonne).
For SNCF, whose lawyer pleaded for release on Friday, this disassembly was sudden, unpredictable, caused by a defect in the steel.
With bolts that broke very shortly before the accident.
Read alsoStart of requisitions at the trial of the Brétigny rail disaster
What the prosecution disputes, which supports a slow process and accuses the SNCF of having "created the context at the origin of the accident" (problem with the geometry of the tracks, poor follow-up of a crack detected in 2008. ..).
The eight weeks of hearings were the scene of bitter technical debates against a backdrop of legal expertise and intense moments of emotion during the testimonies of victims and relatives of victims.
