Rafz is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

and municipality of Rafz. The station is located on the Eglisau to Neuhausen line of the

Swiss Federal Railway Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

(SBB) that crosses the international border twice on its route between the Swiss cantons of Zürich and

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

. The station is operated by the SBB and is served by Zurich S-Bahn line S9 that provides a half-hourly service between

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

and Rafz, with alternate trains continuing to

. Before the timetable revision in late 2015, the station was served by S-Bahn line S5 from Zurich, and an intermediate stop on the S22 between

Bülach , neighboring_municipalities= Bachenbülach, Eglisau, Embrach, Glattfelden, Hochfelden, Höri, Rorbas, Winkel , twintowns = Santeramo in Colle (Italy) Bülach () is an historic town and a municipality in Switzerland in the canton ...

and Schaffhausen, which was curtailed from Bülach to

Jestetten Jestetten is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History In 1806 Jestetten became part of Baden. From 1840 until 1935, the territory of Jestetten together with Altenburg, Lottstetten and what was then ...

, in turn it no longer fell under the purview of the ZVV.

Customs

As the next station is , which is in Germany, Rafz is a border station for passengers arriving from Germany. Customs checks may be performed aboard trains and in Rafz station by Swiss officials. Systematic passport controls were abolished when Switzerland joined the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

in 2008.

Rafz train crash

On 20 February 2015, there was a collision between two trains at the station. The crash occurred at approximately 6.43 am. An

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...

and an Interregio express train collided. The collision occurred as the Interregio train, which was running late, was passing through Ratz without stopping. The S-Bahn train was departing for and was involved in a side-long collision, with the Interregio train coming from behind the S-Bahn train. The express was partially derailed, but the couplings held and no carriages overturned. The S-Bahn train was operated by Class 514

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

514 046-2. The InterRegio train was hauled by Class 460

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

No. 460 087-0. The 49-year-old driver of the express was seriously injured. He was airlifted to hospital by helicopter. There were five other injuries requiring hospital treatment. The

Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB, german: Schweizerische Sicherheitsuntersuchungsstelle; french: Service suisse d'enquête de securité; it, Servizio d'inchiesta svizzero sulla sicurezza) is a government agency of Swit ...

opened an investigation into the accident.

References

External links

Rafz station on Swiss Federal Railway's web site

Rafz Rafz is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the northwest of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Rafz was first mentioned in 1413 as ''Rafsa''. Geography Rafz has an area of . Of this area, 52% is used for agricultural purposes, wh ...

Rafz {{Switzerland-railstation-stub