Executive summary
At approximately 1630 hours on Friday 17 December 1999, a rake of wagons being propelled from Fletcher Paper private siding in Mt Maunganui derailed as a result of being pushed over a derailing block. The wagons slewed from the track and crossed a public road level crossing before colliding with a building and coming to rest on the opposite side of the road. The safety deficiencies identified included:
• the use of motorcycles by staff during shunting of sidings
• the lack of formalisation of local speed limits
• the positioning of staff during the propelling movement.
Two safety recommendations were made to address these issues.
Related Recommendations
prohibit staff members from riding motor cycles for any time they are required to maintain safe line of sight for a propelling movement when shunting sidings.
determine maximum allowable speeds for all shunt movements when operating in sidings, regardless of whether or not discharging or loading of wagons is taking place, and include such information in the relevant yard and siding instructions and agreements.