KiwiRail training gaps linked to repeated safety failures

Saturday, 27 June 2026

A KiwiRail snafu that twice brought Wellington’s trains to a standstill stemmed from the same training oversight behind the Aratere running aground and delays restarting a powerless ferry drifting toward rocks with 864 people aboard.

Twice in 2025 ‒ in March and May ‒ trains entering and leaving the Wellington station were forced to stop - causing significant disruption to commuters - after power-related signalling outages. They resulted in a fail-safety system kicking in and all systems reverting to stop.

A newly-released Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report found issues with KiwiRail’s design and assurance processes when a new power supply was installed. Nobody noticed a visual-only alarm, so did not investigate as “operators had not been trained to understand its significance or how to respond to it”, TAIC found.

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“The train controllers, signaller and signal maintenance staff all remained unaware of the power supply issue until the outage occurred,” a TAIC summary said.

A dive through past Transport Accident Investigation Commission reports into KiwiRail incidents show the issue was far from isolated:

• 2024 Aratere grounding: The autopilot was accidentally engaged and crew had not been properly trained in how to disengage the new system. Interislander is run by KiwiRail.

• 2023 Kaitaki power loss: The ferry lost power in Cook Strait with 864 people aboard and drifted toward rocks. Anchors prevented grounding until engines were restarted. TAIC found KiwiRail had not ensured engineers understood a safety management system covering how to respond quickly to a rupture — the root cause of the lack of power.

• 2024 Rangitata River bridge pier collapse: A pier failed during severe rain south of Christchurch. No train was on the bridge. TAIC found the track ganger had received no training in inspecting a bridge during high river flows or identifying scour.

• 2023 Purewa Tunnel derailment: TAIC found key staff in critical roles were “unsupported and overworked”.

• 2023 Penrose near‑collision: TAIC found the locomotive engineer’s route knowledge and training systems were “not robust”, with new signals and track layouts adding further risk.

“It just shows they are being reactive rather than being a proper grown-up company,” said Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Todd Valster.

KiwiRail should be buying proper gear and training staff to use it, he said. However, there were positive signs. Crews sent to use new track-repair equipment, worth tens of millions of dollars, were called off by KiwiRail when the union pointed out they were not properly trained. The procurement and commissioning of new South Island locomotives was going well, he said.

Green Transport spokesperson and Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter said the string of incidents in which staff received inadequate training or support was a cause for “real concern”.

“Clearly KiwiRail needs to up its game on project management and staff training,” she said. “This is critically important in terms of both safety and instilling confidence in our rail network. ”

Labour Transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said KiwiRail should demonstrate that staff were properly trained and supported when new systems were introduced as safety had to come first.

Rail Minister Winston Peters deferred comment to a KiwiRail statement which said it took each of the incidents seriously and had taken actions on what it head learned.

“Significant, measurable improvements” had been made since 2023 with injuries down and more safety leadership training.

“We are in the process of implementing a new competence assurance system to ensure staff have the right skills before carrying out safety‑critical work,” the statement said.

“This means we are increasingly improving verification of competence, not just training.”

KiwiRail chief metro and capital programme officer David Gordon said, in the wake of the 2025 Wellington incidents, the state-owned enterprise had improved how teams were alerted to issues, so they were easier to spot and act on, along with adding more monitoring.