RO-1995-112

On Wednesday 31 May 1995 at about 0400 hours the Te Rapa North Shunt operated by New Zealand Rail Limited was shunting at Frankton. The Senior Shunter in charge of movements was riding on the footplate on the rear of the locomotive when he lost his footing and fell under the single attached wagon. The Senior Shunter was seriously injured. The causal factor was the Senior Shunter's loss of balance while attempting to read the wagon destination card during the shunting movement. Safety issues identified were the control of the movement of defective wagons, the control of shunting speed due to track condition, the practice of painting shunters' footplates on locomotives, the use of hands free radio communication and the position of shunters' footplates on locomotives.