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Swiss train derails due to avalanche

A train derailed in the Swiss Alps early on Sunday when it rammed into mounds of snow from an avalanche blocking the tracks, the BLS rail company said, adding that no one had been injured in the accident.

Published: 23 December 2012 21:33 CET

Only two passengers and two crew members were on the train when the accident occurred around 6:00 am (0500 GMT), BLS spokeswoman Stephanie Hofer told AFP.

The avalanche, which appeared to have been unleashed by unusually warm temperatures, did not hit the train but blocked the track near the scenic Goppenstein entrance to the Lötschberg tunnel in the southern canton of Valais.

"No one was injured," Hofer said, explaining that the train had struck the snow and jumped its track.

The people onboard had been evacuated but the train has not been moved due to the high risk of more avalanches in the area, she said.

The accident happened as temperatures across much of Switzerland rose sharply overnight, with meteorologists describing "exceptionally warm temperatures" in Valais and predicting the mercury there could reach 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) by Monday.

"It is very dangerous when it is too warm," Hofer said, adding: "We think there will be more avalanches."

The rail connection between Goppenstein and Hohtenn would remain closed for the time being, and passengers would be transported by bus, BLS said.

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TRAVEL

Could Oslo-Copenhagen overnight train be set for return?

A direct overnight rail service between the Norwegian and Danish capitals has not operated since 2001, but authorities in Oslo are considering its return.

Published: 2 September 2021 14:56 CEST

Norway’s transport minister Knut Arild Hareide has asked the country’s railway authority Jernbanedirektoratet to investigate the options for opening a night rail connection between Oslo and Copenhagen.

An answer is expected by November 1st, after which the Norwegian government will decide whether to go forward with the proposal to directly link the two Nordic capitals by rail.

Jernbanedirektoratet is expected to assess a timeline for introducing the service along with costs, market and potential conflicts with other commercial services covering the route.

“I hope we’ll secure a deal. Cross-border trains are exciting, including taking a train to Malmö, Copenhagen and onwards to Europe,” Hareide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

The minister said he envisaged either a state-funded project or a competition awarding a contract for the route’s operation to the best bidder.

A future Oslo-Copenhagen night train rests on the forthcoming Jernbanedirektoratet report and its chances of becoming a reality are therefore unclear. But the Norwegian rail authority earlier this year published a separate report on ways in which passenger train service options from Norway to Denmark via Sweden can be improved.

“We see an increasing interest in travelling out of Norway by train,” Jernbanedirektoratet project manager  Hanne Juul said in a statement when the report was published in January.

“A customer study confirmed this impression and we therefore wish to make it simpler to take the train to destinations abroad,” Juul added.

Participants in the study said that lower prices, fewer connections and better information were among the factors that would encourage them to choose the train for a journey abroad.

Norway’s rail authority also concluded that better international cooperation would optimise cross-border rail journeys, for example by making journey and departure times fit together more efficiently.

The Femahrn connection between Denmark and Germany, currently under construction, was cited as a factor which could also boost the potential for an overland rail connection from Norway to mainland Europe.

Night trains connected Oslo to Europe via Copenhagen with several departures daily as recently as the late 1990s, but the last such night train between the two cities ran in 2001 amid dwindling demand.

That trend has begun to reverse in recent years due in part to an increasing desire among travellers to select a greener option for their journey than flying.

Earlier this summer, a new overnight train from Stockholm to Berlin began operating. That service can be boarded by Danish passengers at Høje Taastrup near Copenhagen.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about the new night train from Copenhagen to Germany

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