Tilting trains back in service on Swiss tracks

Tilting trains are being reintroduced after the completion of safety checks Keystone Archive

Tilting trains are back in service on Switzerland's railway lines, following their removal last week amid safety concerns. The Swiss Federal Railways said its tilting trains were once again plying the route from Geneva to Zurich.

The railways said 11 of its 23 tilting trains had resumed service on Tuesday and that the remainder would be put back on the tracks on Saturday. “The services resumed as planned and without problems,” said spokesman Christian Kräuchi.

The trains were suspended from service last week, following an incident in which various parts fell off a wheel control gear on one of the locomotives.

In a separate incident on July 29, a wagon of an intercity train derailed in Zurich. No injuries were reported. Authorities said the train had been travelling at 80 kilometres an hour.

The checks were carried out in Geneva and Zurich in conjunction with the train’s manufacturers, Alstom and Bombardier.

The railways began offering a faster service with the tilting trains in June, cutting 15 minutes off the trip between the east and west parts of the country via Biel.

The cost of that accident has been estimated at hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs. More than 800 metres of track and four points – the junction of two railway lines — were damaged.

swissinfo with agencies