Newspaper distribution campaign at the Lucerne "emergency station
Lucerne’s train station has been blocked off since the train derailment on Wednesday afternoon. Employees of LZ Medien brightened up the start of the day for commuters this morning by handing out about 1,000 copies of the Luzerner Zeitung along with chocolate hearts.
After the train derailment on Wednesday afternoon, the SBB must restore 400 meters of track and power systems by Sunday evening. Only by narrow gauge can the Zentralbahn from the direction of Nid and Obwalden currently still reach the largest public transport hub in central Switzerland with around 50,000 daily users.
The station blockade has a massive impact on the mobility of commuters and excursionists, as the way and access from and to the city of Lucerne from Zurich and Basel/Bern is now only possible by bus. Due to this state of emergency, the Luzerner Zeitung has launched a campaign for commuters this morning: From 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., editorial and publishing staff distributed 1000 copies of the Luzerner Zeitung free of charge, including chocolate hearts. The newspaper distribution campaign at the "emergency station" on Lucerne's Europaplatz was well received by commuters.
On the second day after the station closure, the current edition of the Luzerner Zeitung also focused on the major traffic event in its reporting. With a prominent, also commentary on the topic on the front page as well as three additional pages in the regional section, the LZ highlights, among other things, the political component of the station blockade. For example, as Economics Director Robert Küng (FDP) emphasizes in an interview, the Lucerne cantonal government wants to use the situation to increase pressure with the federal government for the implementation of the underground station project. The 2.5-billion-franc project envisages turning Lucerne's dead-end station into a through station.
