Rafz train crash

Historical eventFebruary 202015

Rafz train crash

Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.

Everything on February 20Original source

In context

When
Friday, February 20 201511 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2010s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2015.

What happened

Investigation Shortly after the accident occurred, the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) opened an investigation. [ 1 ] A similar accident in January 2013 at Neuhausen , on the same line, was caused by outmoded safety equipment that allowed a train to leave the station against a signal. The equipment at Rafz should in theory have prevented the 2015 crash; authorities investigated why it did not, [ 2 ] and whether there are any similarities between the two accidents. [

Legacy Following the recommendations of the VSLF and the STSB, the SBB implemented new rules for reversing trains, imposing the proposed 40 km/h (25 mph) limit until the first signal to ensure that an automatic braking system could slow down the train before it crosses into a hazardous zone. [ 1 ] In a press release, SBB indicated that they would investigate whether they could speed up the nationwide implementation of the European Train Control System Level 2,

The Rafz train crash occurred at approximately 6.43 am on 20 February 2015. An S-Bahn and an Interregio express train collided at Rafz railway station in Rafz, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland.

February 20 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1998Figure skating
  2. 20022002 El Ayyat railway accident
  3. 2003Great White
  4. 20052005 Spanish European Constitution referendum
  5. 20092009 suicide air raid on Colombo
  6. 2009Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
  7. 2010Madeira
  8. 20102010 Madeira floods and mudslides
  9. 2014Euromaidan
  10. 2015Rafz train crash
  11. 20162016 Kalamazoo shootings

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Everything we record for 2015 →

Sources

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“Rafz train crash”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/rafz-train-crash-2015-february-20, accessed October 27, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Rafz train crash happen?

February 20 2015 — 11 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

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