Persistent snowfall affects traffic in Switzerland
Published: Saturday, Dec 2nd 2023, 17:20
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The persistent snowfall caused traffic problems in many places in Switzerland on Saturday. In many places, falling trees interrupted rail and road traffic.
In the Bern region, the Bern-Schwarzenburg and Belp-Thun S-Bahn lines were affected. In the Lucerne region, a tree fell on the tracks of the Langnau i. E. - Lucerne line between Wolhusen and Malters LU. This disruption should be rectified in the course of Saturday afternoon, according to SBB's Railinfo rail information service.
In Graubünden, the Chur - Arosa line, the section between Tiefencastel and Samedan on the Albula line and the Davos - Filisur line were disrupted on Saturday morning due to the snow. These disruptions were also rectified. However, Railinfo reported weather-related restrictions at Chur station until at least Saturday evening.
There were also restrictions on international rail traffic between Switzerland and Germany. The Zurich-Munich line was interrupted on Saturday afternoon between St. Margrethen SG and Munich. There were problems on the line towards Stuttgart in the morning. However, these were resolved. It snowed particularly heavily in and around Munich on Saturday.
Tree on A6 between Bern and Biel
There have been around 120 accidents on snow-covered roads in the cantons of Bern and Zurich alone since Friday morning, according to reports from the two cantonal police forces. The Bern cantonal police registered 60 reports of trees falling on the roads.
On Saturday afternoon, for example, a tree fell on the A6 highway between Bern and Biel near Münchenbuchsee BE, as reported by the TCS.
Over 70 centimetres of snow fell in the mountains on Saturday, for example in Klosters and Bergün GR, as reported by SRF Meteo. In Arosa GR it was 65 centimetres. In the lowlands, 48 centimetres of snow fell in Elm GL, 30 centimetres in St. Gallen and 26 centimetres in Zurich-Zürichberg, according to the private weather service Meteonews.
Snow clearance also in Zurich-Kloten
At least 15 centimetres of snow were also measured at Zurich-Kloten Airport. This led to around forty flight cancellations. For example, Swiss flights to Berlin and Munich, which was particularly affected by the snow, were canceled. Flights to Brussels and London were also canceled, according to the airport website.
Airport media spokeswoman Elena Stern said on request that the winter service had been busy clearing the snow all night on Saturday. There were also delays as aircraft had to be de-iced. Zurich Airport advised travelers to inform themselves about the situation.
©Keystone/SDA
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