022/12

The driving compartments on Trains 6250 and 6247 were damaged during the collision sequence to such an extent that had the drivers not vacated their driving positions before impact it was likely that they would have been at least seriously injured. Although the Ganz Mavag trains were generally strong and well-built and had met the crashworthiness standards at the time of build some 30 years earlier, they did not perform as a more modern train would have been expected to perform during a similar front-end collision, thereby increasing the risk of injury to the driver and possibly passengers seated near the ends of the trains.
The Commission recommends that the Chief Executive of the NZ Transport Agency monitor the development of current prototype improvements in crashworthiness for the Ganz Mavag rail fleet and requires that such improvements be adopted for any trains that are to remain in service for an appreciable time.