KEY POINTS:
The driver of the Overlander was showered in broken glass last night when an object was hurled at the train's front window.
The train - which was travelling from Wellington to Auckland - was passing through Tuakau at 70 km/h when it was hit.
Train driver Dennis Murdoch said it all happened very quickly.
"The object came from the left-hand side on an angle from the ground up. I thought I vaguely saw it coming out of the corner of my eye, but it all happened so fast," said Mr Murdoch, who has 30 years' experience as a train driver.
"There was a huge bang and I ducked ... and the whole cab was showered in glass and glass dust and the window started to fold in."
He said the peaked cap he was wearing saved his eyes from damage.
"If I didn't have my cap on, I would have been treated for glass in my eyes."
He was able to continue driving the train by looking through a small side window, which had not been damaged.
Just a short time later, between Papakura and Manurewa, the train was hit by a second flying object. This time a window in the train's third-to-last carriage was smashed.
The window was near a passage-way and nobody was injured.
A train assistant, who did not want to be named, said three passengers saw three youths hurl what appeared to be rocks at the train.
"It's school holidays and it's a really bad time for this sort of activity. They can't think of anything better to do. It's happened before," the assistant said.
Mr Murdoch said another train had two windows smashed after objects were thrown at it near Ngaruawahia. "It's a fairly common occurrence ... It's happened to me about six or seven times before."
Toll NZ spokeswoman Sue Foley could not be reached for comment last night.
Rail and Maritime Transport Union representative Brian Cronin said such incidents occurred in spates.
"It's not a normal thing."
