KEY POINTS:
A group of Waikato children pelted a train driver with stones after he stopped on a railway bridge to warn them to stop playing on it.
The KiwiRail driver was attacked on Tuesday after stopping his freight train on a Ngaruawahia railway bridge.
The children hurled the stones at the man before jumping from the bridge into the Waikato River to evade police.
The driver, whose leg was injured in the attack, was too shaken to move the freight train, which was parked across a traffic intersection and caused north- and westbound traffic to back up.
KiwiRail spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said: "We have had drivers injured after their cab windows were smashed but this is the first time I can remember one of our drivers actually being physically assaulted."
He said attacks on trains were not confined to any particular area but Ngaruawahia was "a place of concern".
"We accept that there is a limited amount that authorities can do and that the solution lies largely in the hands of the community.
"Just the day before, one of our drivers reported some children jumping on to the moving locomotive as it crossed the bridge. They jumped from the train into the river."
Police have spoken to a 14-year-old in relation to the attack. He has been referred to Youth Aid police.
- NZPA
