Auckland commuters can expect delays to train services at Britomart Station to continue throughout the weekend.
A passenger train which derailed at Auckland's Britomart Station on Wednesday morning has been removed. Photo: RNZ/Eva Corlett
The front carriages of a commuter train derailed inside Britomart Station on Wednesday morning, shutting down all services for the rest of that day.
KiwiRail chief operating officer Todd Moyle told Morning Report staff managed to lift the derailed carriages train out of the tunnel this morning, but disruption to services would continue today and over the weekend.
This weekend there was a planned maintenance window for the Auckland metro network for which train passengers could expect more delays, he said.
Only three of the four station platforms would operate today until a full check had been made of the site this evening to determine the cause of the derailment, Mr Moyle said.
"We need to do a full investigation of the site where the derailment occurred now that we've got the train off there ... so until that's complete we can't open that track back up," he said.
The cause of the train derailment on Wednesday morning at Britomart station was still unknown. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
He said it was important the accident be investigated thoroughly to avoid any repeat but he did not expect any safety issues with the train services at Britomart.
"When a train comes in [to Britomart Sation], it is going at quite slow speed so we don't see a safety issue there but we want to make sure - we don't want events like this to happen," Mr Moyle said.
Today Auckland Transport said Eastern and Southern Line services are running to Britomart every 20 minutes while the Western service ends at Newmarket Station,
Passengers can transfer to the Southern line there or take a bus.
Onehunga services are running as a train shuttle between Onehunga and Penrose Station, linking to the Southern Line.
Limited bus services are also running between Britomart and Newmarket Station.
TOMORROW: At this stage, train services will be affected tomorrow (Friday) due to yesterday’s partial derailment at Britomart. Information on current situation here, we will provide updates if anything changes. We appreciate your patience at this time. https://t.co/4jAKSh3MTg pic.twitter.com/8eObmplJPO
— Auckland Transport (@AklTransport) May 10, 2018
Rail and Maritime Transport Union's secretary Wayne Butson said the incident was an illustration of why it was necessary to keep staff onboard trains to keep them informed and instruct them.
For instance, if passengers disembarked and happened to touch the ground and train at the same time during the derailment, it could have acted as an electric conductor sent a jolt through them.
"The staff immediately went into action in accordance with their training, controlled the passengers and made sure of the safety of the train and everyone onboard, and would've communicated what was happening in the situation to the passengers," he said.
A transport lobby group said Auckland Transport needed better backup plans for when major unexpected disruptions happened.
The director of Greater Auckland, Matt Lowrie, said Auckland Transport had improved its planning but communication was still a problem.
He said passengers were often faced with full buses when train services were reduced.
Mr Lowrie said more government funding will add a much-needed boost to bus routes and track maintenance.
