Rail officials aware of defective door problems prior to fatal accident
Problems with the anti-trap protection system on train doors that led to the fatal accident of a conductor have been known for years according to a recent internal inspection. Over the past five years, rail officials initiated more than 300 maintenance measures.
This content was published on
2 minutes
On Saturday, Jean-Philippe Schmidt, a spokesperson for Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), confirmed to Keystone-SDA that there were 328 interventions to address issues with the anti-trap protection system on doors in the last five years. This means that something had to be replaced, adjusted or fixed on a door around once a week.
This statement was in response to questions raised by an SBB internal inspection of EW IV trains following the death of a conductor due to a door defect in early August. The 54-year-old conductor got trapped in a door and was dragged along by the train as it left Baden station, some 20km west of Zurich.
The inspection revealed 69 doors had safety problems associated with the anti-trap protection system. Schmidt did not comment on whether this represented a higher than normal frequency.
However, Jürg Hurni from the union of transport employees (SEV) finds this distressing. In an interview in the German-language paper Der BundExternal link, Hurni said that “When the SBB is regularly contacted by employees about defects in the anti-trap protection system, there is clearly a pattern.”
He argues that SBB should have shortened the period of time between inspections.
SBB regularly tests the anti-trap protection function every seven to ten days along with a more thorough check every 60 days. Every year, around 2,000 doors are inspected 50 times, which comes to around 100,000 inspections per year, says Schmidt.
The SBB internal inspection took place August 12-28 and included 458 cars with 1,832 doors. According to SBB, all defective doors identified have been repaired or blocked.
An external audit and further investigations are underway. By the end of October, the SBB is expected to release a detailed plan of how to move forward on the matter.
More
More
Railway boss defends record after fatal accident
This content was published on
SBB CEO Meyer has been under fire following the fatal accident on August 4 that saw the conductor trapped by a door and dragged along a platform by a train. Since then, some 20 faulty doors have been identified amid tests on thousands, he told SonntagsBlickExternal link on Sunday. This number has risen from the…
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
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
Safety concerns raised after conductor fatally trapped in train door
This content was published on
The head of the Swiss rail union has called for all carriages like the one involved in a fatal accident last weekend to be withdrawn.
This content was published on
Jump on, ride to your stop, hop off — without offending anybody. Sounds easy, but it’s not, warns a guru of Swiss transport etiquette.
This content was published on
Train drivers on average ran through almost one red light a day, according to statistics quoted in SonntagsZeitung. That’s a new record.
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.