A city derailed
The resilience of Wellington’s transport network has again been called into question after a train derailment caused widespread disruption yesterday.
The incident happened when a freight train derailed at the junction outside Wellington Railway Station on Tuesday evening, damaging all but the Johnsonville line.
Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Chris Laidlaw said the incident was the product of years of Government neglect in failing to upgrade rail infrastructure in the region. ‘‘Particularly around the railway station itself, there are problems. This has clearly highlighted one of those.’’
While some work had been done to fix signalling problems, there was clearly more which needed to be done, Laidlaw said.
‘‘There’s a huge amount of pressure in that area. It’s a pinch point which has got to be absolutely functional.’’
Up to eight tracks merge into two as they approach and leave loading platforms outside the station. Laidlaw was unsure what could be done to fix the layout but said a solution was needed.
Regional council general manager of public transport Greg Pollock said the incident was a ‘‘worst case scenario’’ that almost never happened. ‘‘It’s almost a once-in-a-lifetime type thing.’’
But he acknowledged there were ‘‘clearly issues’’ with the junction, and any fixes would be expensive.
‘‘I don’t think we need to reach for the panic button, but we need to think carefully about resilience issues in the context of what are quite often difficult circumstances – both physical and economic.’’
Acting Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter said it was too early to speculate on what caused the train to derail. It would be investigated by KiwiRail and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.
‘‘Just last year this Government committed $196 million to make Wellington’s rail network more resilient and reliable.’’
There were as few as 10 buses that could be used as replacements as of mid-yesterday morning, rail operator Tranzdev said.
The breakdown caused heavy traffic congestion, with Automobile Association figures showing State Highway 1 travel times from Paeka¯ka¯riki to Wellington were up to 20 minutes longer in the morning peak, and SH2 travel times between Lower Hutt and Wellington about 10 minutes longer. Congestion was also heavy in the evening peak, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford said the region’s current transport infrastructure was ‘‘just’’ fit for purpose, and could not handle disruptions like that.
‘‘It’s based upon normal usage not the extraordinary. We’ve got no backup, we’ve got no resilience.’’
Wellington-based National List MP Nicola Willis said the lack of a contingency plan was concerning. It meant people in priority jobs, such as law and order, health and emergency services, had no alternative should the public transport system be affected.
Wellington City councillor Simon Marsh could not recall another incident where people could not get into the city on any public transport.
Regional councillor Daran Ponter said the derailment highlighted a ‘‘choke point’’ for the three rail lines.
‘‘We are vulnerable as a city and as a region.’’