On Wednesday 31 July 2002, at about 1040, express freight Train 328 passed 6 Signal, Te Rapa, at stop. The train then ran through No. 2 points at Te Rapa, set in the reverse position, and travelled a further 9 km on the North Island Main Trunk up main before being stopped at Horotiu.
A hi-rail excavator working on track between Te Rapa and Horotiu had just cleared the track before the train passed through the work area.
A safety issue identified was the probable fatigue-related performance impairment of the locomotive engineer leading to his loss of situational awareness.
