Mangere tracks gated off after near-misses

Motorists have been prevented from accidentally driving on to train tracks near the Burger King in Mangere after another car was nearly hit this week.

The safety measures, in the form of a gate blocking access to the South Auckland platform, follow two incidents in which trains have come within metres of hitting cars stuck on the tracks.

On Wednesday night a train came close to hitting a car that had somehow got stuck on the tracks at Mangere Railway Station.

The driver of the car, which must have dropped about 1m from the platform to come to rest on the tracks, told police she was disoriented, didn't know where she was going, and that it was accidental.

Police had to bring in a tow truck to remove the car before the southbound train could continue its journey.

The incident followed a similar one last Thursday, when a freight train used emergency brakes and came to a stop less than 1m from a car. A driver, who was processed for drink driving, had crashed the car over the station platform, leaving it hanging over the tracks.

A crane had to remove the vehicle, and the woman is believed to be facing drink-driving charges.

The entrance to the small access road off Massey Rd that leads to the Mangere station is directly in front of a block of shops that includes a Burger King with a drive-through.

"Obviously we're concerned if people are getting confused over the drive-through," police inspector Gavin Macdonald said.