What the heck is this? Zürich Hardbrücke station
 

Zürich Hardbrücke station:

There is this strange post on the side of the tracks at Zürich Hardbrücke station with what appears to be four broom brushes sticking out it. I saw this several times when commuting from Dietikon to Zurich HB and finally managed to take some photos (attached) on my last day there.

What could it be?

It's an old-fashioned (but effective) safety device to warn people who are leaning out of the train windows that there is restricted clearance. The soft bristles on the "brushes" don't hurt as much as concrete walls and metal girders.:) Some of the older passenger coaches in Switzerland still have windows that can be opened very low and from your pictures it looks like there is construction work in progress which has probably caused the restricted clearance.
I posted a photo of a similar device in the quiz gallery a few years ago.http://www.railwayforum.net/showthread.php?t=532

Thank you. Mystery solved.

I travelled all over Switzerland in September and was, indeed, in many of the coaches where the windows go quite low. And, yes, I did stick my head and camera out said windows.

I am glad I didn't find out how the "soft bristles" feel when they smack your cheek at 80 km/h.

Theres a few heritage railways in the Uk with really tight tunnels that could do with something similar