Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On Friday 2 September 2005 at about 1600, the locomotive engineer of express freight Train 354 reported to train control that a school bus had passed over Caverhill Road level crossing, Awakaponga, immediately in front of his train. The level crossing had passive protection that included limit line road markings and compulsory stop signs on both sides of the crossing. The incident was caused by the bus driver not stopping at the level crossing. No safety deficiencies were identified in the level crossing layout or in the rail system.

[A preliminary investigation showed that the circumstances were not likely to have significant implications for transport safety. Consistent with section 13 of the TAIC Act the Commission discontinued the investigation and no report was published.]

On Wednesday, 4 October 2000, Train 225, an Auckland to Wellington express freight service, was permitted to depart from Te Kauwhata on the North Island Main Trunk and enter the down main line that was already occupied by an authorised hi-rail vehicle movement. No collision resulted, as the four occupants of the hi-rail vehicle became aware of Train 225’s approach and were able to off-track before the train passed. The safety issues identified included: • a train controller not following procedures for handling track user inquiries

On Friday, 14 September 2001, at about 0325, 2 trans Cook Strait ships, the passenger and freight ferry "Arahura" and the cargo ship "Kent", encountered each other at the eastern entrance to Tory Channel. The outward-bound "Kent" had given the inward-bound "Arahura" permission to enter, in order that they might pass each other inside the entrance. The master of the "Kent" subsequently had difficulty maintaining control at slow speed and ventured into the area of restricted navigation at the entrance to Tory Channel, which hindered the safe navigation of the "Arahura".

At about 2218 on Friday, 23 February 2001, northbound Train 144 struck a derailed wagon while passing southbound Train 237 between Pukekohe and Paerata on the North Island Main Trunk line. The incident occurred when a PK wagon conveying containers on Train 237 became derailed at Paerata as a result of a wheel bearing failure. The LE of Train 237 had seen sparks coming from the middle of his train and suspected a possible dragging brake rod. He was unaware of the derailment and proceeded slowly from Paerata towards Pukekohe where he intended to stop and inspect his train.

Electric multiple unit passenger Train 6294 was stationary but attempting to depart from Mana station when an electrical fault on one of the traction motors caused a short circuit and fire in the train’s main electrical equipment case. High current being drawn by the short circuit caused the overhead traction lines to part and fall onto the train.

At about 1520 hours on Saturday 16 March 1996, Cessna 172 ZK-CGE took off from Mandeville Aerodrome on a private flight to Big Bay. The aeroplane did not gain sufficient altitude after take-off to clear a line of willow trees some 500 m from the departure end of the runway, and collided with the trees, killing the pilot. The three passengers sustained minor injuries. The aeroplane was found to have been operated at a weight 136 kg in excess of the maximum permitted all-up weight, which degraded the take-off performance sufficiently to cause the collision with the trees.

On Thursday 5 April 2007, ZK-DOJ, a Piper PA32S-300 Cherokee 6, was on a local charter flight from Queenstown with a pilot and 2 passengers on board. The flight was to include a landing and short stopover at Elfin Bay on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, before returning to Queenstown. During the landing at Elfin Bay, the pilot deliberately steered the aircraft off the side of the airstrip to avoid overrunning the end. The aircraft struck a fence and sustained moderate damage but there was no injury to the passengers or pilot.

On Tuesday 27 April 2004 at about 1605 hours, express freight Train 220 collided with the empty trailer of a fertiliser truck and trailer unit at a farm access level crossing between Maewa and Rangitawa on the North Island Main Trunk. The front bogie of the lead locomotive derailed and the truck and trailer unit was extensively damaged. One traction mast was knocked over and the overhead catenary brought down. The locomotive engineer and the truck driver both suffered minor injuries. The safety issues identified were: • the legal status of the level crossing

Summary of the incident On 28 November 2011 a track maintenance gang arrived at the Crown Road level crossing near Paerata to relocate an 11-tonne hi-rail excavator from there to Pukekohe Station Yard about 5 kilometres (km) away. A scheduled passenger train with 7 people on board was due to pass through the Crown Road level crossing on its way to Pukekohe. The train controller had authorised an unscheduled "training shuttle" train to proceed to Pukekohe several minutes ahead of the scheduled passenger train. The training shuttle looked just like the scheduled passenger train.

[A preliminary investigation showed that the circumstances were not likely to have significant implications for transport safety. Consistent with section 13 of the TAIC Act the Commission discontinued the investigation and no report was published.]