Too early to determine cause of Wellington train crash, officials say
A cordon remains around derailed commuter train on Wellington’s Johnsonville Line as investigators try to work out why it slammed into a concrete buffer.
The crash happened on the lines between the Box Hill and Khandallah stations at around 7:20pm on Saturday.
Two passengers have serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while four others suffered minor injuries.
Transport Accident Investigation Commission’s (TAIC) chief investigator has described the train crash in Khandallah as a “serious incident”, and said it was too early in the investigation to determine the cause. TAIC is the agency responsible for investigating rail crashes.
“We will certainly look at all aspects of the investigation, we will look at the people involved, the system involved, we will gather data from the train and analyse it and determine what caused this accident in order to prevent it from happening again,” Louise Cook said.
She said it was too early to say what caused the crash and was unable to give an investigation timeframe.
It was too early to say if the weather was a factor in the crash, Cook added.
She said a number of people required medical treatment and the was train seriously damaged.
Evidence gathering a priority
Cook expected investigators to be on site for the next few days securing and gathering evidence, which she said was the priority.
“The purpose of our investigation is to determine what saftey lessons can be learned to help prevent a similar accident happening again.
“[The investigators’] priority is to preserve the evidence, particularly the evidence that could deteriorate. If we identify something that is an urgent safety issue we will release that immediately to those who can make a difference…”
TAIC gave a media conference on Sunday at about 2pm. Earlier, it said it would share what was known about the Khandallah train crash and what would happen next.
Greater Wellington Chairman Daran Ponter said once the investigations were over, the train would be pulled back to the station then taken off the tracks by crane.
The passenger train on Wellington’s Johnsonville line derailed with nine people on board. Six people were injured, including two who were in a serious condition.
Investigators have been at the scene since, and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has appealed for witnesses.
Metlink, who runs the rail services and network, says the cause of the incident is not known, but the train was diverted to a runoff route where it hit a concrete stop block before the wheels came off the track.
Greater Wellington Regional Council bought more than 100 electric commuter trains from South Korean consortium Rotem Mitsui in 2007.
The trains, called Matangi after the Māori word for wind or breeze, have been running since December 2010.
Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Todd Valster said train crashes were incredibly rare and this was the first significant incident involving these types of train.
Buses will be replacing trains on the Johnsonville Line for the next few days.
Read more about events today, so far, here.
Read more about the crash on Saturday night, here.
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