A report commissioned by KiwiRail has found a ‘high risk’ of two trains crashing on the approach to Wellington Station.
The report noted on the 750m approach to the station there were 67 cases of trains passing signals they shouldn’t have, in less than five years.
The state-owned enterprise is now planning improvements.
The report follows previous safety warnings about increasing risks in this area since 2013 by the Transport Accident and Investigation Commission (TAIC) after four near-crashes.
In a 2016 close call a driver missed a red light then stopped their train 12m short of a rail merging point that was crossed just 13 seconds later by a train carrying 79 passengers to the Hutt Valley.
KiwiRail introduced new short-term safety measures following the four near-crashes, including reviews and fixing specific glitches found in the system.
But the commission reports said other recommended and “reasonable measures had not been taken to further reduce the risk of trains colliding”, and “more work was required of KiwiRail”.
Radio New Zealand obtained the new report under the Official Information Act said between 2011 and late 2015 there were 67 reports of dangerous situations created because signals were passed by mistake in the Wellington region.
Rail Infrastructure Consultants, who produced the new report, explained their “high risk” finding for the area was because while a train crash was “unlikely”, the consequences of a train missing a signal and hitting another train in this area could be “catastrophic” and result in injuries or deaths.
