New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has opened an inquiry over a July 2 freight train derailment that occurred in Wellington.
The TAIC has opened the inquiry to investigate whether or not the incident poses significant implications for transport safety. The TAIC will then make “findings or recommendations to help improve transport safety” based on the outcome of the inquiry.
The derailment occurred on July 2 at around 7:40pm NZ time at a junction between yard and North Island Main Trunk line. Four container wagons were derailed in the incident.
While no injuries were reported as a result of the incident, it did cause significant disruption for Wellington’s network, with all train services save the Johnsonville line temporarily cancelled while repairs and removal works were carried out by workers from KiwiRail. More than 20,000 commuters were reported to have been affected by the issues yesterday.
Night works are set to continue over the course of the week to fully restore the network, which suffered damage to eight sets of points and other sections of track. Metlink Wellington announced that late notice bus replacements for Hutt Valley line will be in operation tonight to compensate for the works.