Wednesday, March 18, 2015

1 KILLED, 1 INJURED AS TWO TRAINS COLLIDE IN SWITZERLAND




MARCH 18, 2015

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

A German man was killed and a Portuguese man was injured when two work trains collided early Wednesday while carrying out track maintenance in central Switzerland, police said.

The trains collided at around 4.30am (0330 GMT), police in the central canton of Schwyz said in a statement.

A 54-year-old German worker, who was on an outdoor platform on one of the work trains, died of his injuries at the scene.

A 52-year-old Portuguese man who was in the other train with five colleagues was injured and taken to hospital, police said.

Swiss national rail company SBB said one of the trains had rear-ended the other, which was at a standstill.

The trains belonged to a private company hired to carry out track maintenance on a line leading to the city of Lucerne, near the Gotthard mountains in the Alps, according to a spokesman.

Such work is generally carried out overnight when there is no regular rail traffic. 

The accident "severely damaged the rails," SBB said, adding that train services through Arth-Goldau would be halted "for a long period due to the amount of damage".

Police said they had launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. – AFP

Source: http://www.thesundaily.my


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AT LEAST 50 PASSENGERS INJURED AFTER TWO TRAINS SMASH INTO EACH OTHER IN SWITZERLAND WHEN ONE 'JUMPED A RED LIGHT'
FEBRUARY 20, 2015
RAFZ, SWITZERLAND
At least 50 people were injured when two trains crashed into each other in Switzerland today - with a passenger claiming one had jumped a red light.
The crash happened in Rafz, north of Zurich, during the early morning rush-hour.
A high-speed train from Zurich collided with an RER suburban one, causing it to derail.
'The accident happened at 6.45am,' said a Zurich police spokesman. 'It's serious.'
Derailed carriages are seen at a station in Rafz, Switzerland, after two trains collided, injuring 50 passengers


 One of the passengers claimed one of the trains had jumped a red light



Carnage: A high-speed train from Zurich collided with an RER suburban one, causing it to derail


Ambulances and a helicopter rushed to the crash site, as all services on the line between Bulach and Schaffhausen were suspended.

An 18-year-old passenger on the RER train told local media that he thought his train, which had just left Ratz in the direction of Schaffhausen had 'passed through a red light'.

He added: 'A fast train from Zurich came up behind us and brushed against the side of our RER. 

'The Intercity service derailed.' 

Lars Fehr, 20, meanwhile told the Blick daily he had been sitting in the Rafz station waiting room when the crash occurred. 

Footage shows aftermath as two trains smash into each other




Firefighters inspect the site of the train crash at Rafz station, a town 20 miles north of Zurich



Ambulances and police helicopters rushed to the scene and service on the train line between the towns of Bulach and Schaffhouse has been suspended
Train carriages derailed after collision in Switzerland




'Suddenly there was a loud bang,' he told the paper, adding that both the trains had been heading in the same direction. 

Fehr said a woman had called the police and some people had headed out to the derailed train to help.

'The conductor got out of the locomotive, put on a safety vest and helped passengers out of the train,' he said.

The Swiss are Europe's top rail users, and their network is normally envied abroad for safety and quality.  Not today, I guess.

Trains do not 'jump red lights'. They can 'Pass Signals at Danger' (SPADs) but that should automatically apply the brakes and is an immediate suspension and blood test for the Driver. Trains should not be able to crash - technology should stop it. 

Judging by the damage to the locomotives front end, it's been in a side on collision and not head-on. If the express had been running though the station at speed it would have been given priority over the local. Therefore it comes down to the local driver doing a SPAD or a signalling failure.Thats all conjecture we will have to wait and see what the enquiry comes up with. Like many accidents it could be a combination of many factors coming together. 

Accidents do happen everyday, not just the 2 mentioned above, in Switzerland. In fact you just wonder if taking the train to the GVA airport you will get there on time. This is not due to JUMPING RED LIGHTS, many accidents are PEOPLE accidents. I live near to a 5 star jumping spot! Many trains pass right through the towns making accidents very easy. Most trains run on time... I have 1st class knowledge as my son is a train driver! PS the roads are just as bad. Switzerland is just not a big postcard .... I know as I've lived here for the last 50 yrs.

That surprises me about Switzerland. No TPWS? No AWS? Shocking. Hope everybody recovers quickly! 

AWS-Automatic Warning System:the driver has to acknowledge any signal that is not at green, failure to do so will result in the emergency brakes being applied. Not foolproof. TPWS-Train Protection and Warning System. Will automatically slow down a speeding train and will bring it safely to a halt if a signal is passed at danger.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk