A train blew past two stop signals and entered a section of track it was not supposed to be on, where a hi-rail truck was operating.
The truck, which was operating on a section of track near Kereone in Waikato, was never hit, but a report into the incident has highlighted how the “system is not providing a reliable safety backstop”.
On the morning of August 2 last year, shortly after 11am, a freight train left Ruakura in Hamilton heading north towards Tauranga.
Ten minutes later, the operator of a hi-rail vehicle – a truck equipped to operate both on the road and on train tracks – was granted protection authority from train control, and moved onto the tracks. It was heading from…