Mystery surrounds how a man came to be lying beside Bureta train tracks with serious injuries.
The man, in his mid-30s, was found near the Maxwells Rd rail crossing in Tauranga early this morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene around 7.30am.
St John ambulance medics took the man to Tauranga Hospital, where he was described by a Bay of Plenty District Health Board spokeswoman as being in a "critical condition" this afternoon.