High-risk crossing to get $900,000 safety upgrade
A notoriously dangerous Wellington railway crossing will receive an urgent $900,000 safety upgrade in a bid to stop ‘‘common’’ near misses between trains and pedestrians.
The crossing at Redwood Station, in the northern Wellington suburb of Tawa, made headlines last year when a child riding a bicycle was captured on CCTV narrowly missing a train travelling at 55kmh.
The incident was just one of an average of almost three near misses per year at the crossing, which train drivers say is the riskiest along the Wellington region portion of the North Island Main Trunk rail line.
KiwiRail said there has already been one near miss incident this year, also involving a child.
Work will start next month on installing automatic gates at the stop’s four pedestrian crossings, closing off access across the line when warning lights and bells activate.
A rubber surfacing treatment will also be used to remove the gap between the edge of the rail line and the road surface to stop wheelchairs or high-heeled shoes getting caught.
A report presented to the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s regional transport committee yesterday said the $905,000 project was needed in the ‘‘urgent interests’’ of public safety.
The project, which will be fully funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency, is expected to be completed in June.
KiwiRail zero harm group general manager Katie McMahon said the Redwood Station crossing had averaged 2.8 near misses a year since 2008.
‘‘A lot of school children use the crossing, and they are the demographic most at risk,’’ she said.
A voice messaging system was not considered because the automatic gates were the safest option.
‘‘KiwiRail regards safety as [a] top priority and is always looking for the best way to reduce risk at crossings,’’ McMahon said.
TrackSafe foundation manager of rail safety Megan Drayton said while the Redwood stop would have the new safety measures, many others did not and it was important people remained vigilant.
‘‘We want to remind people that if the bells and lights are operating, then they must wait for them to stop before crossing the tracks,’’ she said.
‘‘Even if one train is stationary at a platform, there could be a sec- ond train coming from the other direction, so it’s really important to wait for the lights and bells to stop before crossing the tracks.’’
TrackSafe strongly advised people to remove headphones and not use mobile phones when near railway tracks.