| Tiefencastel derailment | |
| Image Alt: | Photograph of the derailed carriages. |
| Date: | 13 August 2014 |
| Time: | 12:30 CEST |
| Location: | Tiefencastel, Graubünden |
| Country: | Switzerland |
| Line: | Albula Railway |
| Operator: | Rhaetian Railway |
| Type: | Derailment |
| Cause: | Landslide struck train |
| Trains: | 1 |
| Passengers: | 140 |
| Deaths: | 1 |
| Injuries: | 10 (4 serious) |
The Tiefencastel derailment occurred near the municipality of Tiefencastel, Switzerland, on 13 August 2014 when a passenger train travelling on the Albula Railway was struck by a landslide and derailed. Ten people were injured, four seriously, and 1 person died.
thumb|The train was hauled by this Ge 4-4 locomotive.At 12:30 CEST (10:30 UTC) on 13 August 2014, a Rhaetian Railway passenger train on the Albula Railway was struck by a landslide and derailed. The train was travelling from St. Moritz to .[1] Of the seven-coach train, one carriage was left almost at right angles to the track down an embankment, and two others were derailed.[2] [3] Trees prevented the carriage from ending up in the Albula.[1] Eleven people were injured, five seriously, and one of the seriously injured, an 85 year old man, later died.[4] [5] There were 140 passengers on the train. Two of the injured were Japanese and one was an Australian.[6] The other eight victims were Swiss.[7] In one of the derailed carriages, passengers moved to one side of the carriage in a bid to prevent it from plunging into a ravine.[8] The train was hauled by Ge 4/4 III-class locomotive No. 651.[1]
Four helicopters and eight ambulances assisted in the rescue operations. All the passengers had been evacuated within three hours of the accident.[1] They were taken to by bus to continue their journey by train.[6] In a twelve-hour period before the accident, rainfall was recorded at a 50-60 litres per square metre, about half the average rainfall for the month of August in the area, according to a statement by MeteoSwiss.[1] The railway reopened on 16 August. On that date, six people remained in hospital with injuries described as "non life threatening".[3]
The Swiss Accident Investigation Board has opened an investigation into the accident.[9] A separate investigation was opened by the Canton of Graubünden.[3]
Other instances of trains actually being struck by falling rocks and being derailed include -