Safety around railway lines
As we have sadly been reminded over the past couple of weeks, we have a country that is susceptible to hazards like landslides that impact people, homes, and lifelines (for example, transport, water and power). People and communities around the country work to have plans for what to do when something hits, to keep people safe where we can, and recover faster.
Janine Krippner
In Aotearoa, we have freight and passenger trains, and even as you read this there will likely be at least one train running from Hamilton, passing Taumarunui, or collecting milk products around the south Waikato. This is through some very diverse terrain.
To make this possible, a lot has improved with rail operations and safety, but vigilance and improvements are critical to keep our country running.
Our most severe example of this has been mentioned in this column before – the Christmas Eve 1953 Tangiwai disaster, where over 150 lives were lost. A lahar from Ruapehu had destroyed the bridge at Tangiwai shortly before the evening express arrived. Every year before Christmas, rail staff remember this tragedy by stopping and laying wreaths at the site.
We cannot, and many would argue, should not stop nature from doing its thing, but there is a lot we can do to keep people safe and reduce impacts.
There have been great advancements in technology so that when another lahar occurred in 2007, automated systems alerted authorities and rail and road networks were closed for safety. Two similar events, two very different outcomes.
Railway lines. Photo: Josh Brown, pexels.com
Accidents and disasters still happen. Last month with the severe weather impacting the country, train services were stopped on the East Coast to prevent harm.
Slips, derailments, and collisions sadly still happen, as we saw in Spain last month, so for all of us as community members it is handy to know what to do. Just in case.
If we encounter something wrong within the rail corridor, what can we do?
Something wrong may include loose wires, broken rail tracks, landslides, or anything else that seems unusual, even cattle that have wondered onto the track as we have seen in recent years in Te Awamutu.
Please call 0800 808 400 and let Train Control know. If you encounter an accident or derailment and there aren’t already emergency services on site call 111 immediately. Even though this is tough, please don’t go to the site as you don’t know if there is live electricity, fuel, or hazardous chemicals that may put you in danger as well.
Even when there hasn’t been an accident, there are always hazards present. Rules are there for a reason, and when they aren’t observed, casualties can happen. If the bells are ringing and the arms are down, waiting is critical. Trains cannot slow down very quickly and can be moving faster than they appear. Many rural crossings don’t have bells, so at these places we are to stop and check both ways first.
Every day, hundreds and thousands of tonnes pass through the region on trains, helping keep the country running. But like being aware of our natural landscape, respecting rail corridors and knowing how to respond if something does happen is critical to making our community safer.
Railway lines. Photo: Justin Lawson, pexels.com
