KEY POINTS:
A concrete truck driver has been cleared of any blame after a reported near-miss involving the TranzAlpine express tourist train at Darfield, Mid Canterbury, last week.
Rail network operator OnTrack lodged a complaint with police after the incident, 48km west of Christchurch about 8.45am on May 27.
The concrete truck driver was alleged to have driven up to the level crossing where bells and lights were operating, noticed a coal train was stopped and opted to drive on through the crossing.
OnTrack network operations manager Carl Mills said last week the concrete truck made it through the crossing "only a matter of seconds" ahead of the TranzAlpine train which was approaching from the other direction.
Mr Mills said a collision could have been disastrous and urged police to take the incident "as seriously as we do".
However, Selwyn police district head Senior Sergeant Stu Munro told NZPA today the incident had been fully investigated but "sounded a lot more dramatic than it actually was".
The truck driver would face no charges.
"What actually happened was the truck was halfway across the railway line when the bells sounded," Mr Munro said. "He couldn't do anything about it."
He said OnTrack's own investigation had come to similar conclusions and the network operator had indicated it would be "tweaking procedures" to avoid confusing train drivers or motorists.
OnTrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said it appeared the train had stopped temporarily at a rail signal before moving forward. The level crossing alarms would not have started working until the train moved past the signal at low speed.
"The truck (driver) saw the train stopped and started to move forward almost simultaneously as the train started moving," Mr Ramshaw told NZPA.
"The driver made the call that it was better to keep moving than to stop."
When OnTrack realised what had happened, the company sent a note to police asking them to "factor that into their investigation".
Coincidentally, Mr Ramshaw said an unidentified truck drove through a crossing at Islington, just south of Christchurch, this morning, breaking the barrier arms, which were then hit by the TranzAlpine. No damage was caused.
"It does indicate a problem where we have too many drivers prepared to go through lights and bells opr even barrier arms," he said.
- NZPA
