The judicial inquiry into the Buizingen railway accident, that left 19 dead and 162 injured on the 15th of February 2010, has finally finished. It took 6 years. This means the 600 civil parties involved could finally see a trial take place, the Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet Van Antwerpen and Sudpresse papers reported on Saturday.
When the surviving train driver’s statement is added, the case file, which is tens of thousands of pages long, will be passed on to the Hal-Vilvorde Prosecutor’s office. There could be a trial at the start of 2017.
Het Nieuwsblad says the justice department could charge the train driver. He has always denied running a red light, but there is doubt over his version of events. This doubt comes from some analysis of driving and signals.
The SNCB and Infrabel could also be taken to court, as there’s a possibility they might not have done everything they should have.
No date has yet been fixed for the trial, but the papers said that if there is an appeal after the ruling, it could get very close to the 10 year limit.
(Source: Belga)
