French high-speed TGV train in collision near Denguin Published duration 17 July 2014

Dozens of people have been injured in a train collision in southern France.

A high-speed TGV train on the Pau-Bayonne line with 178 people on board was reportedly hit by a regional TER train carrying 70 passengers.

Initial reports indicate the TGV train was stopped on the tracks and restarting when the crash occurred near the town of Denguin.

At least 40 people were reported injured, nine of them seriously. Some were taken to hospital by helicopter.

The BBC's Christian Fraser reports the TGV train had stopped briefly on its route and was moving again, though seemingly not at full speed, which may have prevented a much more serious accident.

Police and firefighters arrived at the scene quickly to help the injured passengers from the train.

The collision follows a recent damning report into the rail crash south of Paris last year, in which seven people died.

That report highlighted the poor state of France's rail network, with the blame placed on poor maintenance checks.

Correction 22 October 2014: This story initially said that the TGV had crashed into the rear of the regional TER train. The headline and article have now been changed to say that the regional train went into the TGV.