Hi-rail vehicle and express freight Train 225, occupying the same section of track, near Te Kauwhata, 4 October 2000
Status
Closed
Occurrence Date
Report Publication Date
Jurisdiction
NZ
Legacy Inquiry Number
00-116
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
• a train controller not applying adequate safety measures to protect the hi-rail vehicle movement
• an unusually high number of incidents involving a train controller
• the inability of the operator to provide relief for the train controller for nearly 3 hours following the incident.
One safety recommendation was made to the operator to address these safety issues.
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
• a train controller not applying adequate safety measures to protect the hi-rail vehicle movement
• an unusually high number of incidents involving a train controller
• the inability of the operator to provide relief for the train controller for nearly 3 hours following the incident.
One safety recommendation was made to the operator to address these safety issues.
Location
Te Kauwhata (-37.434071,175.149872) [may be approximate]