Rescue workers inspect the site of a train crash near the train station of Rafz, northern Switzerland, on February 20, 2015 (AFP Photo/Michael Buholzer)

Rafz (Switzerland) (AFP) - Two trains slammed into each other near the Swiss city of Zurich early Friday, tipping over carriages and injuring at least six people, police said.

The driver of one of the trains was in serious condition after the crash, which saw ambulances, fire and rescue services rush to the scene as a rescue helicopter hovered above.

A regional intercity train hit a commuter train at the Rafz train station, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Zurich and not far from the German border at around 6:45 am (0545 GMT), police and media said.

One of the trains derailed, and several carriages tipped on their side. The locomotive was smashed in, with broken glass and twisted metal visible through a gaping hole in the side.

The police said the driver, 49, was flown to a hospital by helicopter.

Five others were also hospitalised with relatively light injuries, the police said in a statement.

One of the injured was an Italian, another was a Turkish woman and a third was a woman originally from Afghanistan. Two women of Swiss nationality were also hurt.

Switzerland's national rail service SBB said the trains had been travelling in the same direction and that one had sideswiped the other where two tracks merge.

"The circumstances of the accident are being investigated," SBB said.

An 18-year-old passenger on the commuter train told the 20minutes daily the train had just begun pulling out of the station on its way to Schaffhouse when the driver hit the brakes.

"An express train from Zurich came up from behind and hit the side of our train. The intercity train derailed," said the unidentified man.





- Renowned for safety -

Services on the train line between the towns of Bulach and Schaffhouse have been suspended until further notice.

Buses have been arranged for areas where there is now no rail service.

SBB personnel, wearing fluorescent safety vests and helmets, were milling around the site, checking the damaged carriages.

SBB said it had secured the tipped cars so they would not topple over completely.

Equipment, including a railway crane, was brought to the scene to put the carriages back on the rails.

The Swiss are Europe's top rail users, and their network is normally envied abroad for safety and quality.

But a number of accidents have blemished that reputation.

In a dramatic incident last August, a landslide derailed a passenger train in the Swiss mountains, on a popular tourist route between the upscale Alpine resort of St Moritz and the eastern city of Chur.

One carriage plunged into a ravine and terrified passengers packed into the rear of another carriage to use their weight to prevent it tipping over the edge.

Around a dozen people were hurt and one man later died of his injuries.

In July 2013, two passenger trains collided at a station in western Switzerland, killing one of the drivers and leaving 35 injured.

Switzerland counts 122 kilometres of rail lines on average for every 1,000 square kilometres -- compared to only 46 kilometres on average in the neighbouring European Union.

One million of Switzerland's eight million people use the rails every day.