A Swiss Mini-emergency

"On 22 Jun 2005 at 5.08pm, a power short occurred between Amsted (Canton Uri) and Rotkreuz (Canton Zug, which in German means "train") on the Swiss train line. The SBB (Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen) operated their own power lines, and this short circuit caused a sharp drop in voltage, which quickly spread throughout the ENTIRE country of Switzerland. Trains were stalled in the middle of nowhere, with no air conditioning in the heat of the summer. Some train doors could not be opened. More than 200,000 passengers were affected. It took about two hours to get everyone out of the trains. SBB used busses to transport stranded passengers and diesel locomotives to drag trains to the nearest station. It took two more hours before enough power was restored in order for the trains to begin moving. But the efficient Swiss worked all night moving trains so that everything moved rather smoothly the next day."

This is unheard of in this country, where you can set your watch by the trains running on time. And they are very heavily used here. It was quite a shock to hear that one short circuit threw the entire country off line. But then, I guess it was a minor incident in Ohio (?) that caused the large blackout on the East Coast a couple of years ago... Just an interesting current event here in the land o' cheese, watches and chocolate...and rules and insurance and banking. :-)