The Simplon tunnel, a key north-south rail link between Switzerland and Italy, has been closed due to an accident involving a freight train.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
A spokesman for Swiss Federal Railways said the train travelling from Italy to Germany caught fire around six o’clock in the morning on Thursday.
The railways spokesman said one of the carriages caught fire for an unknown reason, and the flames eventually spread to the other carriages due to the immense heat inside the tunnel.
No one was seriously injured. By Thursday evening firemen on board special firefighting trains had been able to bring the fire under control.
The wreckage is approximately three kilometres from the tunnel’s southern entrance on Italian soil. The thick smoke billowing out of the south end meant firefighters were only able to approach the burning carriages from the north.
The smoke coming from the tunnel also greatly reduced visibility on the road leading to the Simplon pass, causing the authorities to close it temporarily.
The spokesman said the train was not transporting dangerous goods but mainly household appliances.
On Friday a team was sent in to check the effects of the fire in the tunnel, the Federal Railways said.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Alpine traffic faces uphill challenge
This content was published on
swissinfo.ch spoke to an environmental organisation calling for a cap-and-trade Alpine Crossing Exchange, a road hauliers’ association which says this would cause “massive economic damage” and the transport ministry, which is stuck in the middle. On Thursday the transport ministry reported that in 2010 the number of trucks using Alpine roads had risen by 77,000…
This content was published on
Cisalpino, which handled passenger service between Switzerland and Italy, had come to stand for breakdowns and delays. But today, passengers have to change trains more often, resulting in tight connections, delays and longer travel time. Many assumed that restoring jurisdiction to the national rail companies and splitting the fleet of first-generation tilting trains (ETR 470)…
This content was published on
The challenges of boring such a rail tunnel, which will witness its final breakthrough on October 15, have been many, and Mother Nature has sometimes made life difficult along the way. The Gotthard Base Tunnel will be the most important element of the new flat rail link through the Alps. Rising no higher than 550m…
This content was published on
Public railways have existed since 1825 and operational models of them for roughly just as long. Train sets can be found in attics, air raid shelters, former swimming pools or purpose-built clubs. The recent digitalisation of tracks has rejuvenated the model train scene. Photographer Roger Wehrli visited three clubs in Aargau and Solothurn.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.