Rail transport in New Zealand is very safe, but there have been some dramatic train crashes. The highest rates of injuries and deaths from rail accidents were from the 1920s to the 1940s – the peak years of rail travel.
In the early 21st century level crossing accidents were a major problem. Motorists were sometimes killed or injured after ignoring warning bells and signals.
Causes of rail accidents
- Mechanical failure: in 1899 four people were killed at Rakaia when one train plunged into another after its brakes failed.
- Track or signal problems: in 1981 speed warnings were missing on a curved stretch of track and a driver went too fast and derailed the Wellington–Auckland railcar, killing four people.
- Human error: 21 people were killed in 1943 when a driver derailed a train near Hyde. He was drunk and driving too fast.
- Weather: in 1880 a train on the Remutaka incline was blown off the tracks in a gale and three people were killed. Heavy rain often brings down slips or landslides which can cause trains to derail.
- Trespassing: some people straying onto rail tracks are struck by trains and killed.
Tangiwai disaster
The worst railway disaster was at Tangiwai near Waiōuru in the central North Island on Christmas Eve, 1953. A wall of water broke free from the crater lake on the top of Mt Ruapehu and rushed down the Whangaehu River, partially destroying the railway bridge.
A few minutes later the Wellington–Auckland express train reached the damaged bridge. The driver tried to stop, but the train ran onto the bridge, which collapsed into the torrent. Despite the brave efforts of rescuers in dark and dangerous conditions, 151 of the 285 people on the train died.
