After Diego’s death, let’s act for safety in Swiss railway stations.

How Many More Lives Must Be Lost Before Concrete and Effective Safety Measures Are Implemented in Swiss Railway Stations?

When human safety is at stake, the protection of life must always come before financial considerations. It is our collective duty to place humanity above profit and to protect our children, loved ones, and all railway users who may face the unthinkable at any moment in Swiss train stations.

On April 8, 2026, my son Diégo, who had just turned 15 years old, was fatally struck by a train at Allaman railway station.

This is a deeply unjust, abnormal, and unbearable tragedy that no family should ever have to endure. Diego was a happy child, full of life, who wanted to live — and deserved to.

By remaining silent, we contribute to normalizing the danger and the avoidable, unjust deaths that occur in many railway stations used daily by thousands of people.

Today, we refuse to allow other families to experience the same pain. That is why we want to bring the following issues to the attention of the authorities and the public.

In Switzerland, the InterRegio trains connecting Zurich and Geneva stop only at major stations. Their high-speed passage through smaller stations where they do not stop represents a clear danger to everyone present on the platforms.

These trains travel at speeds reaching 140 to 160 km/h, sometimes passing only a few meters — or even a few centimeters — away from waiting passengers.

Yet, in most stations, these trains pass:

WITHOUT protective safety barriers,

WITHOUT staff presence,

WITHOUT audible announcements warning passengers of the sudden, extremely fast, and dangerous arrival of InterRegio trains,

WITHOUT intelligent video surveillance systems capable of detecting dangerous behavior and enabling preventive intervention.

Children, teenagers, distracted or vulnerable travelers, blind individuals, elderly people, and persons with physical or visual disabilities remain permanently exposed to REAL DANGER ⚠️ — risking being caught off guard and pulled toward a high-speed train.

What effective preventive measures are currently in place?

The answer is clear: they are largely insufficient — or completely nonexistent.

At a time when Switzerland’s 2026 mobility policy strongly encourages the use of public transportation to meet ambitious climate goals, and while railway station attendance continues to increase, it is imperative that passenger safety be strengthened without delay.

The Swiss Confederation and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF) have committed themselves to providing a high-quality and efficient railway network. Such commitments cannot be credible without the implementation of appropriate safety measures.

Although train drivers receive specific stress-management training to cope with emergency situations, they remain human beings and often suffer severe psychological trauma following accidents involving people. The same applies to families, relatives, friends, and witnesses affected by such tragedies.

My eldest son, Kevin, aged 20, who uses train stations daily for school, work, and personal travel, had raised concerns about this very issue only days before the tragedy that took his brother’s life.

In this context, we call on SBB/CFF, the Swiss Confederation, and cantonal authorities to IMMEDIATELY implement concrete safety measures ⚠️ such as:

• Installing safety barriers in all railway stations.

• Ensuring staff presence in stations and maintaining ticket counters (many elderly people no longer know how to buy train tickets digitally).

• Significantly strengthening visual and audio warning systems with clear and understandable announcements ⚠️.

• Conducting speed assessments in sensitive and high-risk areas.

• Launching prevention campaigns aimed at young people (road safety education exists in schools, but railway safety awareness remains insufficient ⚠️).

Switzerland is a modern country, and railway station safety must evolve to match today’s realities.

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT), trespassing on railway tracks by young people is a known issue. In 2024, ten people were seriously injured and thirteen others were killed after crossing railway tracks. These statistics do not include suicides.

That means more than one person killed every month — excluding suicides.

Railway stations must not become places open to danger and death.

In a modern society, infrastructure must evolve to meet current realities and the imperative need to protect human life.

Psychologically vulnerable individuals can also be driven to suicide easily, and currently, very little concrete action exists to prevent this.

Our society is evolving, and our infrastructure must evolve as well.

The safety of our children and loved ones must become an ABSOLUTE PRIORITY ⚠️.

Diégo will not come back, but his name can become the symbol of a necessary change that could save other lives.

Sign this petition so that no family ever has to go through this again.

Your signature could save a life !