Company investigates after carriage derails

AN investigation is under way to determine the cause of a derailment of the Taieri Gorge Railway train in North Taieri yesterday.

Passengers experienced a lengthy delay when a wagon came off the rails about 1.20pm on its return from the Taieri Gorge.

Dunedin Railways Ltd chief executive officer Craig Osborne said the train had pulled into a railway between School Rd and Dukes Rd to allow another Taieri Gorge Railway train to pass, taking passengers on a second trip to the gorge.

However, the last carriage on the first train derailed at the entry to the siding, leaving part of the carriage blocking the main track.

‘‘As it was going into the siding, it was going at slow speed, but the wagon’s come off the line and it got stuck there.

‘‘Everyone on board was safe. No passengers or staff were injured when the wagon popped off.’’

Passenger Stephen Sutherland, of Auckland, said he had just finished riding the Otago Central Rail Trail with his family and had boarded the train from Middlemarch, set for Dunedin.

While the delay lasted a couple of hours, it was not too much of a hassle, he said.

‘‘We’ve got a couple of kids. They are pretty excited about it. They’re playing cards, so they’re happy.’’

However, he said there were some people on the train who were anxious about making flights from Dunedin Airport on time.

Some of them were taken by taxi from a nearby crossing.

Mr Osborne said the derailed carriage was disconnected from the train and both trains were sent back to Dunedin.

A crane was used to lift the carriage back on to the track about 4.30pm.

It was not yet clear whether the derailment was caused by the railway line or the carriage itself, he said.

‘‘We’ll do an investigation, and that’s commenced, but I don’t have any information about the cause at this time.’’

Maintenance and operations staff spent much of the evening repairing the site, and both the Taieri Gorge train and line were expected to be fully operational again today, he said.

‘‘We’re expecting to be back on track tomorrow — no pun intended.’’

PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON Back on track . . . Operations staff and contractors work to return a Taieri Gorge Railway carriage to the tracks after it derailed in North Taieri yesterday.