Executive summary
On Wednesday 15 August 2001 at about 0930 hours, Train 2621, an Upper Hutt to Wellington electric multiple unit passenger service, departed prematurely from Ava station with the doors on the passenger cars open. The train travelled about 200 m with the doors open before the Tranz Metro Driver became aware of the situation and brought it to a halt.
There were no injuries to passengers or staff.
The safety issues identified included:
• the training and certification of new entrant staff for guard duties
• the procedures for Tranz Metro Drivers to follow before departing stations
• the design of the right-of-way signal system on Tranz Metro trains.
Three safety recommendations were made to the operator.
Related Recommendations
Include in procedures for departing from stations a confirmation check by the Tranz Metro Driver that the doors are closed, by referring to the door-closed light on the console in the EMU cab
Introduce changes to the existing staff training and promotion process, to ensure that prospective guards complete a predetermined length of time in a passenger operators’ role, before progressing on to training and certification as a guard