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Investigation into horrific rail incident starts

After the horrific accident on Wednesday when a post office worker was dragged from Baar to Zug with his arm trapped in a carriage door which had unexpectedly closed, an investigation has started into the cause of the incident.
 
According to police spokesman Marcel Schlatter, the 47-year-old worker, who was taken to a specialist clinic for treatment to his injuries, was still too ill to be interviewed about the circumstances of the incident.
 
What is clear is that the employee was not loading the luggage van from the platform where passengers get on and off the train, but from the other side. This accounts for the fact that the SBB staff on the train and on the platform did not see the incident.
 
However, the incident was spotted by the driver of another train, who immediately reported it to the SBB control centre. So why was the train not stopped earlier? SBB-spokesman Reto Schärli explained, "It was not possible to stop the train in the two minutes it took for the train to get to Zug. By the time the driver has been informed and told to stop, he would be in Zug anyway."
 
Then there is the other question as to whether it is possible for trains to depart with a door still open. "Trains cannot leave if any sensor reports that a door is not properly closed," said Schärli, a fact which Stéphane Wettstein, managing director of Bombardier Switzerland, which took over the Schindler Waggon carriage manufacturing company in 2001, confirmed. "The doors are fitted with an anti-trap device," said Wettstein, "and a continual check is made as to whether the doors are closed properly, whether the train is at a station or moving. I am afraid I cannot explain what happened in this specific case."
 
Now the Swiss Accident Investigation Department is looking into the matter. Employee Jean Gross, who was at the site of the accident yesterday to gather evidence, said, "We expect to be able to explain how the accident happened in three to four months' time."
 
The police are now appealing for further witnesses to the incident to come forward, though not many are expected. No-one in the Neumühle and BBQ restaurants noticed anything and neither did employees nor customers at the station kiosk. Bus drivers of the Zugerland transport company, who were waiting near the station, were not able to help either as their view was blocked by the train itself.
 
In effect it would only be residents of the Bahnhofspark, on the other side of the station, who could have seen anything, but no-one from there has been able to provide the police with any information ."I never saw a thing," said one woman resident, "even though I often look out onto the tracks. I do remember the incident about two years ago when a 14-year-old boy was killed by a train there. I can see it all now as if it were today. In a way I am glad I didn't see Wednesday's incident."
 
If anyone can provide further information, please contact the Zug Police on 041 728 41 41.
 


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