Rafz railway station

Rafz is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Zurich and municipality of Rafz. The station is located on the Eglisau to Neuhausen line of the Swiss Federal Railway (SBB) that crosses the international border twice on its route between the Swiss cantons of Zurich and Schaffhausen. It is situated within both fare zone 114 of the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV)^[2] and fare zone 847 of the Ostwind Fare Network.^[3]

Rafz
General information
Location	Bahnhofstrasse Rafz, Zurich Switzerland
Coordinates	47.6034°N 8.543394°E / 47.6034; 8.543394
Elevation	424 m (1,391 ft)
Owned by	Swiss Federal Railways
Operated by	Swiss Federal Railways
Line(s)	Eglisau to Neuhausen line
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	5
Connections	Zurich Transport Network (ZVV)
Bus	PostAuto line[1] 675
Other information
Fare zone	114 (ZVV)[2] 847 (Ostwind Fare Network)[3]
Services
Preceding station Zurich S-Bahn Following station Lottstetten towards Schaffhausen S9 Hüntwangen-Wil towards Uster SN65 Limited service Hüntwangen-Wil towards Bülach
Location Rafz Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Rafz Rafz (Canton of Zurich) Show map of Canton of Zurich

Services

The station is operated by the SBB and is served by Zurich S-Bahn line S9 that provides a half-hourly service between Zurich and Rafz, with alternate trains continuing to Schaffhausen.^[4][1][5]

• Zurich S-Bahn line S9: half-hourly service to Uster via Zürich HB, hourly service to/from Schaffhausen.

During weekends, there is also a Nighttime S-Bahn service (SN65) offered by ZVV.^[6]

• SN65: hourly service to Bülach and Schaffhausen.

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 and Schaffhausen, which was curtailed from Bülach to Jestetten, in turn it no longer fell under the purview of the ZVV.^[7]

It is additionally served by a PostAuto bus route.

Customs

As the next station is Lottstetten, 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 in 2008.^[8][9]

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 and an Interregio express train collided.

The collision occurred as the Interregio train, which was running late, was passing through Rafz without stopping. The S-Bahn train was departing for Jestetten 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.^[10] The S-Bahn train was operated by Class 514 electric multiple unit 514 046-2. The InterRegio train was hauled by Class 460 electric locomotive No. 460 087-0.

The 49-year-old driver of the express was seriously injured. He was airlifted to hospital by helicopter.^[11] There were five other injuries requiring hospital treatment.^[12][13]

The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board opened an investigation into the accident.

See also

• Rail transport in Switzerland