Grand-Lancy, Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) - Too many commuters are using the streets of Geneva suburb Grand-Lancy to park their cars for the day and the town has decided to act on the problem.
Geneva, Switzerland and Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - A strike by pilots at Air France, in its fourth day, is expected to end at midnight Monday, but only 65-70% of long-haul flights are operating Monday and about 50% of medium-haul flights.
Rome, Italy (CFF, Fre) - A 24-hour strike scheduled for 21:00 Sunday in Italy will affect connections between Switzerland and Italy, notably the Cisalpino trains. The CFF says buses will make connections but it recommends that passengers try to delay their trips.
Chexbres, Vaud, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - The A9 autoroute, down to two lanes between Belmont and Chexbres for the past two days, will have four lanes starting Friday night, cantonal road authorities say.
Chexbres and Belmont, Vaud, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - Eight kilometres of traffic jam on the A9 autoroute between Chexbres and Belmont are likely to continue until Friday.
Engadine snow, from the train: 31 October 2008
Updated, 18:05 Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - Snow started to fall in several parts of Switzerland Wednesday and by late afternoon it was causing some train delays, but by Thursday morning the CFF rail company was announcing major delays throughout the country. French-speaking Switzerland was only mildly affected but in much of the rest of the country trees with branches bent by snow touched the electric lines.
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) - If your first reaction to late October snow is to rush out and get snow tires on your car, prepare to wait in line, with some garages in Geneva getting 300-400 calls a day.
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) - Geneva had 558 car stolen in 2007, reports the Tribune, and the makes that were most popular with thieves were Volkswagen, Opel and Peugeot.
Lausanne, Switzerland (20 Minutes, Fre) - The new M2 Metro, which went into full operation Monday hit its first spot of trouble during rush hour when the automated system came to a halt because one of the trains had trouble identifying the precise place to stop.
A system-wide shutdown that took three times as long as it should have was then set off by a passenger pulling the alarm bell in order to get the doors to open. 20 Minutes quotes the head of operations for the Metro as saying 6 out of 10 problems on a system like this are provoked by passengers.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The new schedule of flights connecting Geneva to over 100 destinations during the autumn/winter season has been announced.
Renens, Vaud, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - Several hundred train travellers were affected Tuesday morning by a wire that came off the line in Renens, a key turntable in the rail system that links Geneva, Morges and Lausanne. Some people were delayed for as much as an hour and buses replaced trains between Morges and Lausanne.
Bern, Switzerland (20 Minutes, Fre) - Swiss license plates will soon run out of new numbers and given the space available, with room for only six digits and the canton’s abbreviation above, a solution will have to be found.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The famous quart d’heure Vaudois that allows people to be 15 minutes late without being impolie, is dead in Lausanne. The arrival of the new M2 metro line has just killed good excuses about traffic holdups.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - M-day, for Metro, is today in Lausanne: Switzerland’s first true underground system will be inaugurated with great pomp and ceremony in the Vaud capital, opening its doors to the public for the first time.
Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre) - The St Maurice A9 autoroute tunnel has irritated many drivers since major roadworks began in April 2008 because for several kilometres the speed limit drops to 80kph. Read more…
Bern and Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The federal government gave Lausanne the green light Sunday to open its new M2 metro line, the first metro system in Switzerland. The six kilometre line, with 14 stops, will operate between Lausanne and Epalinges. Read more…
Photo: popular Lausanne-Bern train rides through the Lavaux Unesco heritage site.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The CFF rail company Wednesday morning reported a 13% increase in profits for the first half of 2008, compared to January to June 2007: CHF104.8 million. Of that, CHF101.8 comes from increased passenger traffic, up 5.8% with freight traffic continuing to lag. A CHF2 million loss was recorded for the company’s additional rail traffic, some two million additional passengers, during the Euro 2008 football championship. Extra hours related to the additional 4,700 trains were responsible for the loss.
The Geneva-Lausanne route accounts for one of the largest increases in passengers, up 10.8% for the six-month period, well above the national average but below the increases around Zurich and Bern, and strong traffic increases (24%) for the new Loetschberg tunnel trains.
Switzerland and Halifax, Canada (TSR, Fre) - Ten years ago flight SR111 from New York to Geneva crashed into the Atlantic just off the coast of Halifax, near Peggy’s Cove, killing the 229 people on board. It is Switzerland’s worst air disaster and prompted national mourning for the last-ever SR111 flight, often referred to as the UN shuttle for the number of United Nations workers who used it between Geneva and New York.
The origins of the fire that brought down the plane were never clearly determined, and the state-of-the-art entertainment system was long suspected as the cause, prompting airlines to slow down their installation of these systems.
A long and careful examination of the crash by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada eventually led investigators to conclude that a fire began in the wiring linked to the entertainment system, where there were flammable materials, and it spread to other parts of the aircraft’s electrical wiring. The area where it began had no extinguishers or smoke alarms. By the time the pilots discovered the fire it was too late to put it out and they were soon overcome by smoke and unable to manage the plane.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada, final report
The last minutes on board: TSR report featuring audio between Halifax tower and SR111, released in May 2007 by the Canadian government
Bern, Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre) - If your Swiss driver’s license is confiscated abroad because of a serious infraction, the driving ban will apply in Switzerland as well, starting Monday 1 September. Since June 2007 a hole in the law has meant that if your license was taken away elsewhere the same did not apply at home - and that hole has now been plugged.
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) - A third rail line to ease traffic between Lausanne and Geneva was on all minds during festivities Wednesday to celebrate 150 years of rail service between the two cities. Politicians and CFF rail company officials visited a 1947 locomotive and enjoyed a ride in rail cars dating to 1952 but it was the future that kept them talking. Andreas Mayer, CFF director, said that with a 10% increase in passenger traffic in the first seven months of the year, well above the national average increase of 6%, he understands the interest of people in the region for expanded rail service. He noted that he was also impressed by the growing number of large international companies moving to the region.
The CFF handles 48,000 passengers a day between Geneva and Lausanne.
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A 78-year-old resident of Gland has died following a road accident on the route du Mont-Blanc shortly before noon. The man was driving towards the lake when he lost control of his car near the Mauverney roundabout, possibly after being taken ill. He hit a construction rubbish bin and then collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction. The truck driver managed to stop his vehicle before it was hit and he was not injured but the driver of the car died at the scene of the accident despite ambulance and Rega helicopter as well as other medical help.
The area was closed to traffic until 15:00.
Rome, Italy (TSR, Fre) - Alitalia, the bankrupt national Italian airline, has a new plan to save it, TSR reports "sources close to the situation" as saying. Intesa Sanpaolo, the bank that handles the airline’s finances, has reportedly pulled together 16 private Italian investors who will pour €1 billlion into the carrier, but an international partner is still needed. The new Alitalia would not include its loss-making subsidiary companies. Bank officials are reported to be meeting with Air France-KLM, which earlier in 2008 negotiated with Alitalia.
Update, 18:00 - train service has returned to normal
Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Trains between Geneva and Biel/Bienne as well as the St Gallen line that stops at Zurich are delayed by 15 minutes and there are some detours following an "accident involving people" (CFF rail company language that often implies a suicide attempt) at Lenzburg. Check the CFF site for traffic updates.
Updated 14:25 Mont Blanc, France (TSR, Fre) - A helicopter surveillance flight Monday afternoon is flying over the area where an avalanche occurred early Sunday, carrying off eight people, three Swiss and five Austrians. The avalanche was on the north face of Mont Blanc de Tacul and rescuers called off the search because of dangerous conditions, with officials saying there is now no hope of finding the climbers alive. The unusually large avalanche, 200 metres long and 50 metres wide, hit an area frequently used by climbers. Another eight people were injured when what one person described as a wall of ice descended on the climbers.
According to TSR, 100 people have died in the Alps (French, Swiss and Italian combined) so far this year.
Lausanne, Switzerland (24 Heures, Fre) - Lausanne’s new M2 public transport lines are starting to excite public interest, with a city-wide festival scheduled to celebrate the inauguration, 18-21 September. Street fairs and the Festival Label Suisse will follow the official ceremonies, with the metro line free until Sunday and additional "pyjama" buses and trains running, including a last train to Geneva leaving at 01:20.
