Swiss in shock after entire rail system is short-circuited

[emad]

By Martin H Bott in Zurich
24 June 2005


Switzerland's trains may be famous for running on time - but they also run on electricity and, when the power supply fails, they don't run at all.

That is what happened during the Wednesday evening rush hour, leaving 100,000 people stranded, some inside long Alpine tunnels. It was the first time the entire - fully electric - network had been brought to a standstill by a technical problem.

The first public sign of the ebbing power supply was the air-conditioning cutting out - this on one of the hottest days of the summer so far. As the heat in sealed carriages became unbearable, passengers broke windows to let in fresh air.

Passengers stuck in tunnels were evacuated within an hour and a half, and diesel locomotives were used to retrieve trains wherever possible.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=649226

[Kellanved]

1. power grids can fail

It is not like there is no precedence for such a cascading failure.

[BiggJawn]

2. A new market for American SUV's...

"Hey, you can't rely on that ancient shit like TRAINS, why don't you people get yourselves these snazzy 10-mpg SUV's? They'll climb the Alps like Ivan Basso, and we'll even make a 'Swiss Army' model for you if you'd like. Then you can also enjoy the ability to go anywehere anytime, without being at the mercy of those mindless thralls at the train ministry!"