The train set off on its regular route between Rouen and Caen in northern France. On board, 180 passengers. Then it hit something - and left the tracks.

The number of injured was first put at around twenty, then rose to 44. One man is in critical condition and was airlifted out by helicopter, said local prefect Jean-Benoit Albertini. A total of 140 firefighters worked at the scene, and residents were advised to avoid the area.

What exactly the train hit is still unknown. Police describe it as an unidentified object. State rail operator SNCF said an investigation into the cause is under way. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot confirmed the train derailed near the town of Cleon.

Traffic on the Rouen-Caen and Caen-Le Havre lines has been suspended, with passengers redirected onto buses.

France has one of the densest and most modernised rail networks in Europe - the same country that runs its high-speed trains at over 300 kilometres an hour. And still, one object on the tracks is enough to leave 180 people in an overturned train. If that happens where the infrastructure budget is not up for debate, what does it say about railways where it is?

Anyone who has ever waited for a train in the Balkans knows the answer. The difference is not that we have no accidents - the difference is how quickly 140 firefighters arrive, and how quickly someone steps in front of the cameras with a name and a job title to say what happened.