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‘Drunken’ Briton’s foot sliced off by train after he fell asleep on tracks in French rail station

A British national had his foot sliced off and suffered serious injuries to the head and abdomen when a train ran over him after he fell asleep on a rail track at a station in western France, local media reported.

Published: 23 January 2019 12:18 CET

'Drunken' Briton's foot sliced off by train after he fell asleep on tracks in French rail station

Rennes train station. Photo: AFP

The 53-year-old from the Channel Island of Jersey was reportedly drunk when for some reason he decided to lie down on the track in the station in Rennes in Brittany, western France at around 3 am local time.

The driver of a freight train that was entering the station saw the man on the tracks and jammed on the brakes, but it was too late to stop the train in time, France Bleu radio reported.

The train ran over the victim, cutting off one of his feet and causing serious injuries to his head and abdomen. Ambulance workers arrived quickly and rushed him off for treatment at a nearby hospital.

The SNCF national rail company said it was not immediately clear how the man, who has not been publicly identified, managed to get into the station at that time of night, as it was closed to the public and security guards were on duty.

It is not clear whether the victim was a resident in the French city of Rennes or was visiting.

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Travel in Europe: UK to scrap all Covid travel rules

Testing is no longer required for vaccinated travellers, but the UK government has announced that it will scrap all Covid-19 travel rules on Friday, March 18th.

“As one of the first major economies to remove all its remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions, this is a landmark moment for passengers and the travel and aviation sector,” said the Government in a press release.

From 4am on March 18th:

Passengers going to the UK will no longer be required to fill out a Passenger Locator Form before travel;
Passengers who are not vaccinated will not be required to take a pre-departure Covid test, or a Day 2 test following arrival. Fully vaccinated travellers are already exempt from having to do this;
Hotel quarantine for travellers coming from ‘red list’ countries, of which there are currently none, will also be scrapped by the end of the month.

“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants, and keep a reserve of measures which can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe,” said UK Health Minister Sajid Javid.

The UK has lifted all Covid-related rules including mask rules and mandatory self-isolation if you test positive for Covid.

Some European countries still have Covid restrictions in place for unvaccinated people coming from the UK.

Until March 18th

Until the new rules come into effect, all travellers are required to fill out a passenger locator form.

Unvaccinated travellers are also required to take pre-departure test and a test on or before Day 2 following their arrival.

The UK border officers will recognise proof of vaccination provided with an EU Covid Certificate.

For the UK “fully vaccinated” means 14 days after your final dose of a EMA/FDA or Swiss approved vaccine (Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson).

After a period of confusion, the UK government says that it will accept mixed doses administered in the EU (eg one dose of AstraZeneca and one of Pfizer).

However people who have only had a single dose after previously recovering from Covid – which is standard practice in some European countries – are not accepted as vaccinated by the UK.

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