Ok, back from the Alps. Thanks Laertes, of course you're right.

Amogles, thanks for the details. However, I'm asking again: What the heck could the engineer have done wrong that could make him do the pretty crazy thing you think he might have done?

I don't know. I'm just pointing out the possibility that there was something.

We will have to wait for the results of the investigation that has been opened, and it would be wrong to pre-empt that with speculation.

update-

unfortunately, no caning.

http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/zueric....14762472.html

Forget to renew your monthly pass and get caught at a check? 100 CHF please.
Be a dumbass and destroy the day of hundreds of commuters and cost a pile of money in repairs? Oh that's alright you were just stressed out.

This whole matter sounds fishy really, the guy was alone in the carriage, they know the dude was sleeping for sure, they know exactly which stop he missed and they know he pulled the emergency breaks and jumped out of the train, in addition they know he was stressed....yet they don't know who the guy actually is!!!

A more logical scenario would have been, we had a problem during maintenance / due to driver error and it caused a damage that we don't wanna pay for....so maybe our insurance can pay for any future claims

Japanese don't sleep in trains, they meditate

I think you all make it a bit too complicated. The "Costa Concordia" comes to mind ! I think that passenger was well existing, and possibly is most extremely well known to the train driver, and by mistake pulled the emergency brake, and so they had to invent a way out, and she.... sorry I mean THE passenger had to get away swiflty

Makes me think of a time I was on one of the Basel trams, at one of the end of line / turnaround stops which happened to have a bathroom. The tram generally sits there for a few minutes before heading off again. On one occasion, I saw the driver come out of the bathroom, still zipping his pants, and was closely followed by a young lady whose hair was a bit messed up.

I'm not saying there was anything untoward going on but... well...


So, perhaps Wolli is onto something.

To have it with a German Fasnacht cabaretist of lately "" Ich sag ja nichts, ich mein ja nur"

You miss a point here: Altstetten was the terminal stop and from there the train was heading - off duty and supposedly empty - to its next service. Of course they don't know exactly what happened, it's just the most plausible explanation.