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Wellington train derailment: Council chair explains how concrete block stopped runaway train

A Wellington commuter train could have ended up in someone’s backyard if not for the concrete stop block it crashed into after being diverted on to a runoff track on Saturday night. The Johnsonville Line train struck the barrier south of Khandallah Station, leaving passengers injured and closing the line while investigators work to determine what went wrong. Greater Wellington Regional Council chair Daran Ponter said the safety system appeared to have done exactly what it was designed to do. “They’re designed to stop the train moving beyond the railway line. That’s exactly what happened in this case,” he said. “Without that stop block, the train could have found itself in somebody’s backyard.” Ponter said the impact left four people hospitalised with serious injuries, including two train staff and two passengers. Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter. Photo / Mark Mitchell Ponter said the concrete blocks were designed for exactly this type of situation. The crash, which residents described as sounding like a “massive boom”, prompted a major emergency response and suspended train services on the Johnsonville Line. Ponter acknowledged the incident would leave some commuters concerned about the safety of the network. “There will be some concerns, some anxiousness amongst some of our Metlink travellers around how safe the system is,” he said. “Our commiserations go out to those people who have been affected by this particular event.” The cause of the crash remains unknown and is now the subject of investigations by both KiwiRail and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC). “It is like a crime scene.” Ponter said investigators needed time to examine the train, signalling systems and other evidence before any conclusions could be drawn. He expected investigators would require several days at the scene before the line could be returned to service. In the meantime, replacement buses will continue operating for commuters using the Johnsonville Line. “We will have replacement buses in place. They’re already in place today, and people will have to bear with us as we continue those operations through the early part of this week.” Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.