Suicide of Bruno, SNCF driver: “Before boarding his TGV, he showed no signs of distress”, confide his disconcerted relatives

An employee of the SNCF since 1997, the driver Bruno Rejony, 52, committed suicide on Christmas Eve by jumping from his moving train.

On Tuesday evening, a few hours before Christmas Eve, Bruno, a TGV driver, committed suicide by jumping from the driver's seat of his moving train, an act that shocked the railway community.

Originally from Saint-Etienne, Bruno joined the SNCF in 1997 and distinguished himself through his role as a local staff representative, taking to heart the concerns of the railway workers he represented.

A committed activist, particularly against the RN

This “experienced driver” was also an active activist. Recently, the fifty-year-old had committed himself against the pension reform with the CGT, marching in several demonstrations.

The biography of his X account (formerly Twitter) also attests to this: “Long live equality, well-being for all and social justice”, he wrote.

On his social networks, the railway worker clearly displayed his political commitment against the National Rally, a party which, according to him, gives off a “strong whiff of fascism and racism”.

A gesture which is “not insignificant”

His colleagues who paid tribute to him, describe him as a man “intelligent” and “voluntary in his work”: “Bruno had been deeply committed to the defense of the public railway service”, declared the senator of the Loire Cécile Cukierman on X.

If the theory of workplace malaise is not favoured, as the Minister of Transport indicated after his controversial remarks on the railway worker's suicide, the symbolism of his gesture raises questions: “When you do that at your workplace, on your train, it's not insignificant. On the evening of the 24th…”, a unionist and former railway worker specified to Le Parisien.

In a state of shock, Bruno's railway worker colleagues do not understand. The evening when the announcement of his suicide was made, some even had difficulty believing the suicide theory: “For the moment, there is no evidence to support one theory or another. Investigations are ongoing. As such, we deplore the hasty communication from the national management of the SNCF, which seems to want to close the subject quickly”, explains Laurent Saint-Léger, from the CGT-Cheminots of the Lyon region (Rhône) to Parisien.

Recent breakup

On his Facebook profile, testimonies revealed the emotional distress of this suffering fifty-year-old. On December 13, the father shared a message in which he mentioned “the absence of someone he misses”, accompanied by a broken heart. Did his recent romantic breakup lead him to the worst ?

Bruno Rejony was also “deeply affected and tested by the education of his autistic child” who notably had to be hospitalized several times, underlined our colleagues from Parisien and RMC.

“He was due to retire next year”

However, despite his worries, Bruno Rejony did not show any signs of distress or isolation: “Thirty minutes before boarding his TGV, he did not give any sign of distress. He was always smiling and available. He was due to retire next year”, confides his colleague and friend from CGT Saint-Étienne Stéphane Colin who does not see him “committing such an act”.

The investigation entrusted to the gendarmerie will have to establish the causes of the railway worker's death. Video surveillance analyses are underway.

A tribute will take place in the coming days.