Derailed train carriage dragged 3.4km

A derailed freight carriage that caused transport disruptions north of Wellington this week was dragged more than 3km before stopping, initial investigations indicate.

The incident happened on Sunday evening near Pukerua Bay, causing significant damage to the railway track and tunnels and taking until Tuesday to repair.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (Taic) has opened an investigation into the incident and said information reported to date showed a carriage was dragged 3.4km.

The service between Palmerston North and Wellington was affected all day Monday with up to 3000 commuters having to be transferred by bus.

In Auckland, Taic is investigating an incident on Monday where a train passenger received a minor injury after his ankle was caught in a closing door.

The train's operators said they had had difficulties with the door controls on a service between Britomart and Papakura.

In Dunedin last Friday two train carriages on a tourist train came apart during the approach to Dunedin station. Both sections were brought to a stop when the emergency braking system was activated.

In an incident two days earlier in Waikato, a train drove through a cordoned-off track-work area when points to a siding could not be activated.

Apart from the ankle incident there were no injuries in any of the incidents. All are being investigated further by Taic.

- NZPA