A SWISS man set a fire and stabbed people on a train in the country’s north east, wounding six people as well as himself, police said last night.

Officers in St Gallen canton said the incident happened at 2.20pm on Saturday afternoon as the train neared the station in Salez, near the border with Liechtenstein.

They said the 27-year-old suspect had at least one knife and poured out a flammable liquid, which caught fire.

Police say the wounded included a six-year-old child, three women aged 17, 34 and 43, and two men aged 17 and 50.

Some of the injuries were said to be serious but there were no further immediate details, and authorities were still investigating the attacker's motive.

Switzerland’s 20 Minuten newspaper reported on its website that police did not believe the incident to be terrorist-related.

In addition to a large police presence, the local fire department responded along with three rescue helicopters, two emergency doctors, three ambulances and railway authorities.

A preliminary estimate says the train suffered 100,000 Swiss francs of damage.

In July, a refugee from Afghanistan attacked four tourists on a German train, then stabbed a woman as he fled from it. They all survived, but police shot and killed the attacker.

Later the same month, a teenager armed with an axe and knife attacked passengers on another train in Germany, injuring a score of people. He too was shot and killed by police as he tried to escape from the train.

Last September, a heavily armed gunman opened fire on a high-speed Amsterdam-Paris train, but he was overpowered by two young American soldiers and their companion.