Executive summary
On 25 August 1993 Train 901 - the "Southerner" passenger express - collided with a concrete mixer truck on a level crossing at Rolleston. Three passengers on the train were fatally injured and seven seriously injured. The truck driver received minor injuries.
[From findings and observations in the TAIC report: The truck driver had not noticed the crossing alarms before the collision, and did not see the approaching train until the collision was unavoidable. A number of factors could have contributed to the truck driver's failure to notice the crossing alarms, but the layout of the road intersection, and the need to consider conflicting traffic were probably the major influences. This accident has similar features to another accident investigated by the Commission, at Kimberley Road near Levin on 28 May, 1993. (Transport Accident Investigation Commission report 93-105). The Kimberley Road level crossing is also close to the intersection with the State Highway. There are many places throughout New Zealand where the railway runs parallel and adjacent to a major road, with the consequence that there is little room between the intersections with side roads and the level crossings. In many cases the gap between the intersection and the crossing is less than 20 metres, which is the legal maximum length of heavy truck and trailer combinations, so that such combinations must obstruct either the railway crossing or the intersection (or both) if they stop. For traffic turning from the main road towards the crossing, the distance is so short that it can be covered too quickly for some motorists to observe the crossing, react to any train approaching, and take action to avoid an accident. Report 93-112 drew attention to TAIC safety recommendations 056/93 and 057/93 made to Transit New Zealand in report 93-105.]