An avalanche has derailed a regional passenger train in southern Switzerland, leaving multiple people injured and forcing a major emergency response in the canton of Valais.
The derailment occurred at around 7am local time in Monday near the south-western Swiss hamlet of Goppenstein, on the Bern–Brig axis. Police in Switzerland said the train came off the tracks on the Goppenstein/Hohtenn section after an avalanche swept onto the line. Multiple people have been injured, according to local police.
Train operator BLS attributed the incident directly to avalanche activity. “The train derailed due to an avalanche that came down in the Stockgraben area,” a spokesperson said.
The affected service was a RegioExpress that departed Spiez at 6:12am. Initial operator information suggested there were approximately 30 passengers onboard, but Swiss media later reported a significantly higher figure of around 80 people.
Swiss police confirmed that evacuations were underway, with 30 people already taken from the scene which has been sealed off. Air Zermatt helicopters and ground ambulances were deployed to extract passengers, with rescue operations continuing through the morning.
Rail traffic disruptions
The incident has disrupted traffic on the Lötschberg corridor, a key north–south link through the Alps, with the line suspected to be closed until at least 4am on Tuesday. Earlier estimates had suggested a shorter interruption, but the revised timeline points to prolonged disruption between Goppenstein and Brig.
The derailment follows days of heightened avalanche risk in Valais. Last Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) raised the alert to level four, the second-highest on the scale, with the alert level still high. Heavy fresh snowfall had accumulated on top of weaker underlying layers, creating unstable conditions across parts of the region.
Investigations into the precise sequence of events are ongoing, with emergency services and rail infrastructure teams working on site.