Switzerland - railways and incidents (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[stuving]

Reports say up to 50 people have been injured in a "serious" collision between a high-speed train and a local service near Zurich.
08:43, UK^▸ (United Kingdom),
Friday 20 February 2015

The crash site by the town of Rafz. Pic: @watson_news

Two trains have collided in Switzerland injuring up to 50 people, according to reports.

The collision happened at the train station in the Swiss town of Rafz, around 30 km (19 miles) north of Zurich.

The crash was between a commuter train and a a high-speed train on its way from Zurich to Stuttgart.

Eyewitnesses said the high-speed train hit the other from behind.

"There was an accident this morning, it's serious, there are injured," a police spokeswoman said.

"Ambulances from all regions have been mobilised," she added.

One rescue worker said as many as 49 people had been injured.

A passenger on the local train told the 20 Minutes newspaper that his train had been pulling out of the station when the driver braked suddenly.

"An express train from Zurich came up from behind and hit the side of our train - the intercity train derailed," said the man, who did not give his name.

The 18-year-old went on to say that passengers had quickly been evacuated from the trains, both of which were "quite damaged".

Rail services have been suspended.

The Swiss rail service is generally admired for its safety and efficiency - the Swiss are the biggest users of trains in Europe.

[ChrisB]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) now have it too

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31547979

[stuving]

No word of an official explanation yet, but the pictures do support the initial reports of a signal passed at red.

There are two through lines and two platform loops at Rafz, and the express train from Zurich to Schaffhausen can be seen to have struck the suburban train a glancing blow and to have been almost entirely derailed. It crossed the other through line (to Zurich), and struck something (presumably an OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") stanchion) hard enough to tear a hole in the power car and result in serious injuries to the driver.

This train continued over a small bridge, where it just stayed within the parapet railing, onto the bare ground beside the track. The suburban train was left upright - and may have stopped by the time of the impact. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the suburban train set off before its signal had cleared, unless the signal had cleared in error.

Incidentally, both trains were going to Schaffhausen - in Switzerland - but the next two stations are in Germany. Do they still drive on the left there? It's a bit academic, as the line is single at the border so there is no need for an Alsace-style flyover.

[stuving]

Further news (in French) from 24heures.ch

This says that both trains were driven by trainees under instruction, and unlike the last Swiss accident at Granges-Marnand the station has an up to date signalling system (ZUB). This ought to at least stop a train trying to pass a red signal, so the current expert view is that that driver error alone can't explain it.

[stuving]

There are two through lines and two platform loops at Rafz,

Having looked at the layout on Google Earth, that's wrong. The pictures are misleading - there's a main island platform, and also a second one, but very low. And they use both sides of the main platform for both ways - many trains terminate here and start back both ways too. So the stopping train (RER) was on the left and the express on the rightmost track, which gives the same geometry.

[the void]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36423250

[TonyK]

Impressive!

[chuffed]

Don't remember the orange army doing acrobatics and cavorting about in their undies at Dawlish. As I recall it was a bit parky that day !!
Or was it just another Berlusconi Bunga Bunga party ?

[TonyK]

And the breakthrough in the channel tunnel was celebrated with a couple of handshakes and exchange of slightly soiled flags!

Video from ITN here.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

Here's a picture of a new Swiss EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit).  It's got sliding doors at different heights.  Presumably different sets of doors open depending on the height of the platform at the stations its serves.  I've never seen his before - maybe it's to help disabled people, load buggies etc?

[chrisr_75]

Here's a picture of a new Swiss EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit).  It's got sliding doors at different heights.  Presumably different sets of doors open depending on the height of the platform at the stations its serves.  I've never seen his before - maybe it's to help disabled people, load buggies etc?

Ah, I've been on these - I don't think they're particularly new.

As I recall, the higher doors are for luggage/goods space - presumably higher to allow them to be directly loaded from a trolley or van/lorry

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

Yes, that makes sense, and is consistent with there being no windows in that part of the train. I've travelled a fair bit by train in Switzerland (and will be there again in May) but never noticed a train with doors like that.

[chrisr_75]

Yes, that makes sense, and is consistent with there being no windows in that part of the train. I've travelled a fair bit by train in Switzerland (and will be there again in May) but never noticed a train with doors like that.

A lot of the 'private' railways in Switzerland that go to high resorts seem to carry quite a lot of goods and parcels and luggage - makes sense, especially in winter, to keep some of the vans and lorries off the road. Don't forget the BOB goes to Wengen which is traffic free.

Have you got any specific travel plans for your break this year? The ride on the BOB from Interlaken to Grindelwald and then on up to Junfraujoch is expensive and can be very busy (and is also quite a lengthy trip), but is worth it if you've not done it before. As I recall you can get 50% off with a Swiss Pass or half price card on the Junfrau Bahn and the BOB is classed as part of the national network for the rail cards iirc.

[broadgage]

It seems to me a little odd that the higher doors intended for light freight or parcels are of a contrasting colour to the surrounding bodywork.

I though that a European standard requires doors intended for passenger use to be of a contrasting colour so as to be seen by those with poor eyesight. That would seem to imply that doors NOT intended for public use should be inconspicuous by being of the same colour as the surroundings.

Or are these doors intended for the public to load their own bulky luggage, skis and so on ?

[stuving]

Surely the reason why the doors at the ends of the train are higher is because that's the floor height over the bogies. TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse)-duplex also have them, with a luggage storage area in each end trailer. As far as I can see (from an inadequate drawing) at the ends, where there is no high-level connection to the next carriage, there is a half-height "room" between the above-bogie floor and the upstairs floor - only accessible from this short full-height compartment at that sliding luggage door. Presumably the Swiss one, which has a cab not a power car next to that space, is much the same mutatis mutandis.