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Floods and mudslides in central Switzerland - travel problems

Floods and mudslides in central Switzerland - travel problems

Old Aug 24th, 2005, 01:17 PM
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I just received this message from the Chalet Fontana in Murren:

Thank you for your e-mail and concerns, I have been here for 24 years and we have never had anything like this, the valley was flooded and we have had no electricity for 3 days - but it just went back on about 2 hours ago and probably by tomorrow night everything will be back to normal so please do not worry there is a bus service at the moment from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and they are saying that the train up, as we have no damage in Lauterbrunnen, should be running again tomorrow now that we have electricity. The hiking is fine as none of my guests could leave or new ones arrive we have been doing lots of hiking as once it stopped raining it has been beautiful, we are high up so were never in any danger.


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Old Aug 24th, 2005, 01:19 PM
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Thanks for letting me know about Zurich. Please keep us updated.
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Old Aug 24th, 2005, 02:07 PM
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Yea - thanks for the update. But what about train service from Zurich airport to Interlaken? If no train service, what options do we have from Zurich to Interlaken?
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Old Aug 24th, 2005, 03:05 PM
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Thanks for positive feedback re Murren Eurogals.
Doesn't look too good for des Alpes but think I'll let them get on with the cleanup and contact next week to see how they are getting on.
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Old Aug 24th, 2005, 04:51 PM
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I also tried contacting our hotel in Lauterbrunnen without any luck but i see in the one post that there was not any power but it just got turned back on. Actually made tentative arrangements in Villars for a couple nights. Would rather head to Lauterbrunnen but we'll see. thx for the updates
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Old Aug 24th, 2005, 05:17 PM
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HI- wow, i have been out of the news loop this week and am so sorry to hear of these devastating floods. we are leaving on 9/9 for zurich; and have the following itinerary: 3 nights Lech Austria, 3 nights St. Moritz Switzerland, 1 night Zurich. Does anyone have any thoughts about traveling thru or to these areas? We are supposed to be hiking. thank you


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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 02:53 AM
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I just had Lucerne tourist office on the phone at 12.00 local time. I was told, main roads to Lucern city is closed, large part of the old town is under water, eg, Schwanenplatz has 50 centimeter water. It just does not recede at the moment.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 04:07 AM
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I have reservations in early September for to train from Paris to Lucerne via Basel. Does anyone have any information as to whether this line is closed? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ward
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 04:51 AM
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Have plans to go from Basel to Interlaken, then up to Wengen starting 6th of September, then from Interlaken to Montreux and Lausanne to Lucern after that before heading to Innsbruck. Does anyone know if the rail lines are working to these locations and since Wengen is in the mountains, are things function there? I appreciate the feedback.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 05:16 AM
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There is a big resort from a Belgian organisation in Wengen, and over 400 people were stuck there without electricity for 2 days. Now things are slowly getting better, but the question is how long it will take before roads and railways are clear again.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 06:25 AM
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http://www.jungfraubahn.ch/en/DesktopDefault.aspx

This website will give you a daily update on the conditions of transportation into the Bernese Oberland Region.

There are busses going into the region instead of trains, and there is limited service (busses of 80 people).

Lauterbrunnen - Murren railay is in operation again.

Lauterbrunnen - Kleine Scheidegg section is in operation again.

Appears to be severly reduced service into Grindelwald.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 06:29 AM
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here's an update from our hotel in the Lauterbrunnen valley. Still don't have info re: trains from Zurich to Interlaken. Would appreciate same if someone knows.

Greetings,
Thanks for your note. We had a lot of rain the last weekend (100 year rains) that the rivers and lakes could not hold. Up here in the alps the water flows fast and things fill up quickly and then drain quickly also. There is nice weather now and all the watrer is draining out of the Alps. We have our electricity back, the roads are open, and most of the trains in the region are up and running again. Everywhere things are getting cleaned up and back in action. We are happy that all is back in order and that we can go on so quickly after such a serious amount of rainfall. The train from Interlaken is still not running but it is replaced by bus transfer every hour to Lauterbrunnen. Most of the trains and cable cars are running back on schedule with few exceptions. The Schilthorn and Jungfrau are open.

The weather is also back to normal and expect the standard alpine weather patterns in the coming weeks. Which is beautifully changing and diverse, with no forecast of any more extreme rain amounts. The sun is shining as this is written.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 07:45 AM
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Jill_h, we still have to see what brings tonight/tomorrow morning because in those areas incl. Lucerne and Interlaken, some rain fall is expected tonight. I hope it will be very little.

By the way a message from Jungfrau Railways said, today total of 2500 visitors enjoyed Jungfraujoch - the Top of Europe.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 07:36 PM
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JWard: you will be ok.

Here are some news regarding rail and highway travel:

According to a SBB bulletin, starting Friday, 8/26, there will be train service between Basel - Ticino and Italy on an hourly basis. However, NOT via the usual direct route, but via Loetschberg/Simplon-Domodossola and Centovalli. Gotthard long distance travel is still closed, but they're operating some local shuttle services, between Brunnen and Erstfeld, e.g.

Zurich - Chur limited service.

Train service to Austria is also considerably limited. International trains are routed via Germany (Stuttgart/Munich).

Hopefully, A2 will be reopened by the weekend. Today, Brünig, Klausenpass and Gotthard were reopened.

Great efforts are being made to reroute passengers to their destinations and normalize service as quickly as possible. Step by step service will be improved and travelers with September departures might suffer only minor inconveniences. Let's hope so!!

A SBB Hotline:
0800 99 66 33 (supposed to be gratis)
and 0900 300 300 Rail Service (24 hrs.) (there's a fee for this one.)
I do not know if they work outside of Switzerland but hope this will help.
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Old Aug 25th, 2005, 07:44 PM
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Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this tradgedy.
Brendan and Michelle
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Old Aug 26th, 2005, 08:47 AM
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This is the update on the Wengen-Murren tourism website(I've been hunting to hear this kind of news). I still cant find any news on trains to Interlaken- the sbb site has not been updated since 23rd!


"
Fortunately the Lauterbrunnen valley and the resorts of Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen, Stechelberg and Isenfluh have been left unharmed by the heavy rainfalls throughout Switzerland.
Only the return of pour supply has taken away the romatic candlelight atmosphere we were able to enjoy over 24 hours.

The resorts of Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen, Stechelberg, Gimmelwald and Isenfluh and the day trip attractions, Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch and Trümmelbach Falls are, from 25th August 2005, accessible as usual.

Arrival:
Public transport to Lauterbrunnen is possible with a bus service from Interlaken Ost.
Private vehicles and busses can now pass freely on the road to Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg.

Public footpaths:
Almost all hiking routes are open and in a good condition.
"
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Old Aug 26th, 2005, 12:06 PM
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The zentralbahn runs the train from Luzern-Interlaken, the section over Bruenig Pass is damaged, of course there is also the route via Bern which is also damaged.
updates here: http://www.zentralbahn.ch/
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Old Aug 26th, 2005, 01:07 PM
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Thanks Nidwaldner_Chris.
Any idea about the Montreux-Interlaken lines,or,would you know which SBB affiliate's website might have it?

earlier this week they were saying that the Interlaken Ost trainstation was filled with water,I wonder if thats OK now....
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Old Aug 27th, 2005, 01:38 PM
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Can anyone give us an idea if the train will be running from Zurich to Interlaken Ost through Bern or Lucerne?

My trip is on 9/12/05 to the Berner Oberland area. I have already canceled Grindelwald and will be going to Burgundy instead.

Would hope someone could tell me about the train service in and out of Interlaken Ost.
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Old Aug 27th, 2005, 01:53 PM
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The trains are working only in certain areas between Lucerne and Interlaken. However, where there is no train service, there will be bus service. The trains should be working on all lines by Sept. 9. Most hotels are already in operation again. The water is going back down and the good weather is coming. So please come to Switzerland...it is so beautiful!
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