Safety rules around railways reviewed Pū horo Interns celebrate summer projects

Changes to the way road contractors’ are permitted to work around railway crossings are being developed.

Both KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi are updating guidelines after a truck driver died at a level crossing near Marton in May 2021. The truck was on the railway line, with a road marker working behind it, when it was struck by a train.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission report on the fatality found KiwiRail did not know workers were likely to be in the railway corridor.

It called for improvements to the costly and ‘‘impracticable’’ system in place requiring contractors to secure a permit to enter the corridor for every job.

The two agencies have both acknowledged the ‘‘tragic accident’’ and have extended sympathy to the family and friends of the person who died.

KiwiRail group general manager for Zero Harm Alastair Cumming said the incident was distressing for everyone involved.

‘‘In line with TAIC’s recommendation, we have looked at our permit-to-enter system.’’

KiwiRail was working with road controlling authorities and Waka Kotahi to make changes to its code of practice for temporary traffic management to include best-practice guidance for road and roadside workers near the rail corridor.

He said KiwiRail continued to talk with industry groups to raise awareness of the need to have a permit to work safely around the railway lines.

‘‘It is very important to take care around the rail network and to expect trains at any time,’’ Cumming said.

A spokesperson for Waka Kotahi said as the land transport regulator for both road and rail, the agency had worked with police and the commission since the accident.

‘‘Everyone should be able to go to work and expect to come home safely at the end of the day,’’ they said.

The agency welcomed the commission’s reminder about the importance of having the right permits to work on or around the railway.

‘‘These permits are vital for safe operations in or near a railway corridor and are required under the Health and Safety and the Railways Act.’’

Waka Kotahi expected to release the final version of its new guide to temporary traffic management dealing with permit issues in April.

A WorkSafe spokesperson said its investigation into the fatality had been completed.

‘‘As no breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 were identified, no charges were filed.’’ Its report had been provided to the coroner.

The latest batch of summer graduates from the Pūhoro Stemm academy have celebrated completing their work through a mātauranga Māori lens.

Māori are under-represented in science, technology, engineering and maths-related careers, making up just 2% of the workforce, and the Pūhoro internship programme was established five years ago to change this. The extra M in Stemm is for mātauranga Māori, the world of Māori knowledge.

‘‘By creating opportunities for rangatahi Māori [youth] to engage in hands-on learning, build industry networks and improve their confidence we hope to bridge the gap between tertiary studies and careers,’’ Te Urunga Pae lead Arohaina Owen said.

Since the formation of the programme, the demand for Māori interns studying in these fields has grown rapidly, from 38 students in 2021-22 to 73 this summer.

‘‘This year our interns were hosted by 35 different organisations across the industry.’’

In this intake Pūhoro hosted all interns and supervisors at a three-day noho (stay) at Te Wānanga o Raukawa with a focus on Te Tiriti o Waitangi training, whakawhanaungatanga (establishing relationships) and creating a safe place for a community of future stemm leaders.

Intern Suraya Goss said the noho was a highlight of the programme.