The severity of the woman’s injuries is not yet known and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is witholding further information until her family members have been consulted.

“The Australian Consulate-General in Geneva is providing consular assistance to an Australian woman in relation to a railway accident in Switzerland,” DFAT said in a statement just after midday today.

Swiss police have confirmed that five people were seriously injured while a further six sustained only slight injuries.

One carriage slid down a steep slope, saved from a ravine only by large trees.

The accident occurred in a deep wooded valley between Tiefencastel and Solis, southeast of Zurich in the canton (state) of Graubuenden.

Police said about 140 people were on board at the time of the accident, about lunchtime. The landslide followed heavy rains over the past 24 hours.

They injured included eight Swiss and two Japanese citizens as well as the Australian, police said.

The train had set off from the ski resort of St. Moritz heading north toward Chur, Graubuenden’s administrative capital.

Police initially said the train ran into a landslide on the track, but later revised their comments to say a landslide hit the train as it travelled between two tunnels along the side of a valley.

One train car slid about 10 metres down the slope before being stopped by the trees.

Air rescue helicopters helped with the recovery effort since the crash site was not near a road.