Maximum sentencing is life in the UK.
The specifics are on the wiki article:
"On 22 July 2015, a truck driver of Polish nationality was driving from Poland to Hungary with a load of aluminium plates. The driver chose a slow and time-consuming route on local roads in order to save money on highway tolls.[4] The driver drove through a rail crossing near the Studénka train station. The crossing was protected by signal lighting and gates, and the driver entered the crossing when the red lights accompanied by acoustic signal were on for at least 30 seconds. The driver drove into the crossing despite warnings and as the gates went down, he stopped the truck on the tracks.[4] Instead of ramming through the gate, which is constructed so as to allow even a motorbike to penetrate the barrier and automatically sends a stop signal to all approaching trains if breached, the driver moved the truck only a few metres forward in order to avoid a direct impact to its cab, with its trailer carrying aluminium sheets remaining on the track."
"major damage to the station platform, with projectile debris injuring six people at the station. Two passengers sitting in the front carriage were killed instantly, while the train driver lost his leg and sustained further serious injuries, including to his spine, as more than three tons of metal sheets smashed through the driver's cabin and into the passenger compartment. Another twelve people were injured inside the train, one of them fatally"
Its gross incompetence, the warnings are very loud, I don't see how anyone could be that oblivious in the story you linked, I think 8 1/2 years is quite soft, personally.