Climbing action at Olten station 29-year-old injures himself jumping from catenary mast
A man climbed onto a catenary mast at Olten station on Wednesday. He injured himself when he later fell onto the platform.
26.06.2025, 12:17
26.06.2025, 12:30
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- A 29-year-old man climbed a catenary pole in Olten on Wednesday afternoon, which led to the suspension of rail traffic in the greater Olten area.
- The man injured his leg and pelvis when he fell from the mast and was taken to hospital.
- The incident caused massive disruption to rail services around Basel, Bern, Lucerne and Zurich during the evening rush hour.
- A similar incident occurred on April 1.
The man who climbed onto a catenary mast at Olten SO station on Wednesday afternoon, causing rail traffic to be suspended, is a 29-year-old man. According to the police, the man's motive is unclear.
The man let himself fall onto the platform after about an hour and a half. He suffered a leg and pelvic injury in the process, as the Solothurn cantonal police reported on Thursday. The ambulance service took the man to hospital after first aid.
After the man climbed onto the catenary mast, SBB had to switch off the traction current in the entire Olten area as a precaution. Olten station is one of the main transport hubs in the Swiss railroad network.
The impact on rail traffic was therefore huge. In the greater Basel, Bern, Lucerne and Zurich areas, there were delays and train cancellations during the evening rush hour. After the disruption ended at 7 p.m., there were subsequent delays in the evening.
Similar incident
According to the cantonal police, the report about the man on the catenary mast was received at around 4.45 pm. A police patrol initially tried to talk to the person. Specialists from the negotiation team were called in for further negotiations. An interpreter was also deployed at the scene.
A similar incident had already occurred between Aarau and Däniken SO at midday on April 1st. Rail traffic was disrupted for around two hours. The police rescued the man from the catenary mast with the help of the fire department.
