Campaign aims to boost public transport safety further

The prevention campaign tells people not to get too close to trains, and to respect the rules Keystone

Last year saw 167 serious accidents on public transport in Switzerland, the second lowest figure in 11 years. The authorities have launched an awareness campaign to get the figure down further. 

167 accidents caused deaths, serious injuries or significant material damage, according to the 2017 security report from the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). Of these, 82 happened on the railways, 42 on buses, 35 on trams, 2 on cog railways, 1 on a boat and 1 on a funicular railway. 

The number of people who died was 30, hardly changed from 29 in 2016. The majority of victims went unauthorized onto railway installations. Twelve were hit or crushed by trains and three people were electrocuted. 

The number of people seriously injured increased quite significantly to 135, compared with 97 the previous year. About half of these serious accidents were due to inattention, carelessness or being distracted, says the report. 

In the 11 years the FOT has been keeping such statistics, only 1986 saw a lower overall figure for serious accidents (156). 

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To further increase safety, the federal authorities, Swiss railways and the office of accident prevention have launched a prevention campaign entitled “Happy EndExternal link“. The campaign includes three videos showing typical accidents and the correct behaviour to adopt in order to prevent them. 

The awareness campaign aims to encourage everyone to be more attentive and respect the rules. For example, the campaign videos stress the importance of respecting the white security lines on station platforms, not crossing railway tracks and holding onto fixed supports when standing up on public transport.