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Six Injured in Johnsonville Line Derailment Near Khandallah

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has begun an on-site probe that keeps the train in place for evidence collection.

Overview

  • A commuter train left the tracks between Box Hill and Khandallah on Saturday evening and came to rest upright against a concrete runaway block.
  • Six people were taken to hospital with four recorded as having minor injuries and two in serious but non-life-threatening condition, and the train driver suffered a head injury.
  • KiwiRail and Transdev staff attended the scene and described the train as upright with its wheels off the rails after it moved onto a single-track runoff section and struck the concrete block.
  • TAIC investigators, with New Zealand Transport Agency involvement, began work at the site overnight and are requesting witness accounts, photos and video while the train remains unmoved for evidence preservation.
  • Services between Wellington and Johnsonville are being replaced by buses and the probe could take many months as investigators examine train data, infrastructure and operational factors to identify safety lessons.