Trains regularly cross the railway bridge at Maxwells Rd, but people have taken to using the bridge as a jumping platform, concerning KiwiRail. Photo / Andrew Warner
Trains regularly cross the railway bridge at Maxwells Rd, but people have taken to using the bridge as a jumping platform, concerning KiwiRail. Photo / Andrew Warner
Groups of young people jumping from a Tauranga rail bridge into the harbour are putting their lives at risk, KiwiRail says.
KiwiRail group general manager of zero harm Katie McMahon said she was horrified when she saw photographs of young men gathered on the railway bridge at Maxwells Rd. The pictures were supplied by a concerned resident.
McMahon said people on railway tracks were putting their lives at risk and train accidents had a "significant impact on our drivers".
"Some of them never work again," she said.
"Some struggle to get over it, even when it's not a worst case scenario. And it's not just families. It's the whole community, the schools, the social groups, local sports teams.
"I know what the consequences of someone losing their life is. There's much more than the obvious grief and loss of the person.
"It's a big issue for us."
In March, last year an 11-year-old girl was killed in front of friends when she was struck on a railway bridge by a train travelling from Hamilton to Auckland through Ngaruawahia.
A group of young men using the Chapel St railway bridge as a platform for bombs into the waterway below have horrified KiwiRail's top safety boss and police inquiries are underway. Photo / Supplied
McMahon said it was not the first report KiwiRail had regarding people in the Maxwells Rd railway bridge. She hoped it would be the last.
The national carrier is this week upgrading the security of its railway bridge fence line, including using barbed wire.
McMahon said accidents involving people on railway tracks had an enormous impact on the health and wellbeing of drivers.
"Our drivers don't want to be in this situation. They are professional drivers. They do everything they can to stop ... trains don't stop quickly."
Residents living nearby said they saw people jumping off the bridge every day - and it was not just teens but adults and small children too.
A woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she regularly saw oncoming train drivers desperately tooting their horns in warning.
"You can see that he's concerned because they don't' know when someone is going to jump and when they aren't.
"It's an accident waiting to happen," she said.
"If a foot gets caught in the railings or something, that would be it."
The woman said she felt for the drivers and the actions of the jumpers were "hugely dangerous".
"We hear the horn regularly, the train driver sits on his horn a long time to get them to jump off. Sometimes they play chicken - they wait until the train is closer until they jump."
A group of young men using the Chapel St railway bridge as a platform for bombs into the waterway below have horrified KiwiRail's top safety boss and police inquiries are underway. Photo / Supplied
A group of 16-year-old boys, not pictured, who spent their Thursday afternoon swimming in the area confessed they jumped off the railway bridge but usually stuck to jumping off the Chapel St bridge instead which they believed was less dangerous. It was also easier to access as the railway bridge "was a bit of effort to get up".
One of the teens said he believed people did it because "of the extra thrill of having a train coming".
Western Bay of Plenty police area prevention manager Zane Smith said police did not want to see anyone injured or killed.
"Our primary concern in this situation is safety. It's not only ill-advised but also an offence to cross or walk along railway tracks anywhere other than a designated level crossing".
Railway tracks are private property and people could face a financial penalty of $10,000 for trespassing.
