Train route back on track after accident

Keystone

A popular tourist railway line reopened on Saturday, three days after eleven passengers were injured in a partial derailment caused by a landslide.

The Rhaetian Railway companyExternal link announced that services between Thusis and Tiefencastel, serving the Upper Engadine area of canton Graubünden, were now running normally. Six of the eleven casualties were still in hospital, according to a statement on Friday, although none of the injuries was considered life threatening.

Three carriages of a passenger train derailed on Wednesday afternoon after hitting a landslide near to Tiefencastel, shortly after emerging from a tunnel. The area had been hit by heavy rainfall in the weeks leading up to the incident and a particularly severe downpour on the morning of the accident.

The train was carrying 140 passengers in total. Eight Swiss, two Japanese and one Australian national were hurt.

Canton Graubünden and the Swiss Accident Investigation Board (SAIB) are carrying out separate investigations into the incident.

Trains are now able to run along the rail stretch again following a clean-up operation to remove debris from the landslide that affected some 15 kilometres of track.

“[Rhaetian Railway] wishes all the injured passengers a speedy recovery and thanks the police and rescue services for their outstanding efforts,” the train operator said on its website.