Executive summary
At 1030 hours on Thursday 2 May 1996, two Hi-Rail vehicles collided on a curve near Kotemaori on the Palmerston North-Gisborne Line. The four occupants of the vehicles were uninjured. The cause of the collision was insufficient information available to the employee in charge of one of the Hi-Rail vehicles.
Safety deficiencies addressed in the report are the suitability of the existing Operating Rules covering conflicting Hi-Rail vehicle movements. Safety issues addressed in the report are the compliance with Train Control procedures and the compliance with certification requirements for operating Hi-Rail vehicles.
Related Recommendations
Introduce measures to ensure that where two trolleys/HRVs, operating under Rule 198 and Rule 199, are authorised to occupy a particular section of track at a common time each must be given full particulars of the other's position and progress before the second is authorised to "on-track" and that where contact cannot be made with the first, adequate steps are taken to safeguard its progress before the second is permitted to "on-track".