Construction trains crash on Gotthard stretch
Two construction trains crashed on the train line that leads to the Gotthard tunnel from Lucerne, resulting in injuries and one death.
At around 4:40 on Wednesday morning, two trains carrying construction equipment collided on the stretch between Immensee and Arth-Goldau. The trains derailed when they crashed at a switch in the track.
As a result, Swiss Federal Railways has completely shut down the train line that takes passengers through the Gotthard tunnel via Lucerne. Passengers wishing to travel to Ticino from northern Switzerland must travel via Zurich until it has been reopened. The stretch will likely remain closed until Friday.
The person who died in the crash was a 54-year-old German citizen. He was standing on an outside platform on one of the trains when the crash occurred. Six other workers were inside the train at the time of the crash, and one of them, a 51-year-old Portuguese man, was injured and hospitalised.
Police and firefighters set up a spill prevention perimeter on Lake Zug, which runs next to the affected train track, since diesel and hydraulic oil leaked from the trains following the crash.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. An inquiry has been launched by the canton Schwyz public prosecutor and the Swiss Safety Investigation Service, together with local police.
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