Fire in cable duct halts Lausanne-Yverdon rail line, police suspect deliberate act

What happened overnight

A fire broke out in a cable duct near Eclépens in the canton of Vaud around 03:15 on Friday. The SBB said the fire knocked out a signal box (Stellwerk), and trains were stopped between Cossonay-Penthalaz and Chavornay. Lines IC5, IC51, R1 and R2 are affected, with delays and cancellations expected. The stretch is part of the Lausanne-Yverdon-les-Bains route, one of the busiest lines in French-speaking Switzerland. The SBB said an internal technical cause could be ruled out.

Chaos at the stations

A news scout who reached the station at six o'clock, trying to get to Vevey, counted between 200 and 300 people waiting there. Replacement buses were announced for 06:40, but two arrived at 07:05 and he could only board one at 07:30, because there were far too many people for the vehicles. Tension grew between six and seven o'clock, he said, and he eventually boarded a packed bus toward Cossonay. He criticised the absence of SBB staff on site on a heavily used line, and said it was hard to understand that the problem had been known since three in the morning.

Police probe and repairs

In a press release, the cantonal police set out their first assessment of the cause.

Based on the first findings on site, a deliberate act appears to have triggered this event.

The prosecutor has opened criminal proceedings to establish the exact circumstances and identify possible perpetrators. Accounts differ on which unit leads the probe, with reports naming either the criminal police or the Vaud security police. Police released the fire site around 10:00. SBB spokesperson Carmen Hefti said repairs would begin once police finish their on-site investigation.

Duration and rerouting

Estimates of how long the disruption will last vary. The SBB expects restrictions to last at least until 12:00, while other reports put the disruption at least until 23:59, until late evening, or for the whole day. Replacement buses run between Yverdon-les-Bains and Cossonay for IC5 and IC51, and between Eclépens and Chavornay for R1 and R2. Travellers between Geneva or Lausanne and German-speaking Switzerland were advised to use trains via Bern, while those between Yverdon-les-Bains and Lausanne were routed via Payerne. Passengers were urged to check the online timetable before departing.