Clean-up work has begun

Press release
Chur, 14 August 2014
Rail accident near Tiefencastel on Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Situation as at 14.08.2014, 2.00 pm
Clean-up work has begun
24 hours after the accident involving a Rhaetian Railway (RhB) train between
Tiefencastel and Thusis (see Media Release by Graubünden Cantonal Police), nine
of the eleven injured are still in hospital. Meanwhile, work has begun on cleaning up
the accident site.
Of the eleven passengers who were injured, nine currently remain in hospital. None of
them sustained life-threatening injuries. They received initial care at the accident site from
the medical services and Care Team Grischun. The Management Board, Board of
Directors and employees of the Rhaetian Railway wish everyone involved a speedy
recovery. At the same time, the company would like to thank everyone involved in the
rescue operation for their tireless efforts.
Clean-up and recovery work in difficult terrain
It was possible to remove the engine from the site as early as yesterday evening. This
morning, the debris was cleared from the tracks. The next step will be to recover and
remove the three derailed carriages. The two coaches which were positioned in second
and third place behind the engine will be lifted by crane and put back on the track.
Recovering the foremost car, which slipped off the rails and plunged down the slope, will
be more difficult. The Infrastructure division of the Rhaetian Railway is investigating the
possibilities. As soon as all the carriages have been recovered, work can begin on
technical repairs (track/overhead lines). Rhaetian Railway officials expect the work to be
completed successfully by Saturday, 16 August 2014. Until then, the line between
Samedan and Chur will remain closed.
"Natural hazard risk management" at RhB
As a mountain railway, the Rhaetian Railway faces more natural hazards than railway
operators in the lowlands. 30 per cent of the rail network is situated at an altitude of over
1500 m above sea level. The protective structures are already in a very good standard of
repair at present. If all the existing structures (walls, safety netting, avalanche barriers,
etc.) were laid end-to-end, they would measure 50 km; the majority of these protective
structures are positioned far above the line and cannot even be seen. In addition, there
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Rhaetian Railway, Corporate Communications, Yvonne Dünser, Tel. 081 288 63 66, E-Mail [email protected]
are a further 42,000 m2 of protective installations in place (large-scale avalanche
protection, etc.).
The Rhaetian Railway invests a great deal in risk management and has produced a risk
warning map covering the entire rail network, in collaboration with specialists from the
Graubünden Office of Forestry and Natural Hazards. The Rhaetian Railway's disaster
register, in which around 1,000 natural disasters have been recorded since the railway
was first built 125 years ago, its register of protective structures and the cantonal hazard
maps all served as a basis for drawing up the risk warning map. In addition, the
experience of local RhB employees provided valuable input.
The rail network is monitored on a preventive basis through regular track inspections by
the linemen and routine inspection runs by the Railway Services team. In extraordinary
situations (e.g. persistent rain or snowfall), both forms of inspection are stepped up at
known hazard areas and monitoring measures are introduced. Throughout this process,
the Rhaetian Railway stays in close contact with the local authorities and experts, as well
as organisations such as the police and fire service. The accident site does not feature on
any of the risk maps and no incident involving natural hazards has previously taken place
at this location.
Some luggage still on board the train
On leaving the accident site, via the tracks in the direction of Tiefencastel, passengers
were asked to leave their luggage on the train. The train has been guarded by Securitas
employees since the passengers were led away. The items of luggage in the first two
carriages (1st class) have not yet been recovered. The remaining luggage is at
Tiefencastel railway station. Those affected are requested to contact the Rhaetian
Railway's Railservice team ([email protected], +41 81 288 65 65).
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Rhaetian Railway, Corporate Communications, Yvonne Dünser, Tel. 081 288 63 66, E-Mail [email protected]

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