Train drivers slept on job

Photo / Mark Mitchell

Kiwirail train drivers have been disciplined for seven serious safety breaches in the past two years, including failing drug or alcohol tests and falling asleep on the job.

The incidents led to them being fired or given a final written warning, according to information released under the Official Information Act.

KiwiRail public affairs general manager Kevin Ramshaw said the problems presented a real risk, but robust monitoring programmes were in place.

In the past two years, two drivers were disciplined for failing to react to a "vigilance device", indicating they may have fallen asleep on the job.

The device activates a light, then a buzzer when the controls have not been touched for 50 seconds. The driver must cancel the alarm or brakes are applied automatically.

In four other cases, drivers gave a positive drug or alcohol test. Ramshaw said company policy allowed testing after an incident or with reasonable cause.

Another driver was disciplined for a "serious operational irregularity", after passing through a red stop signal without authority.

Dates and locations for the incidents were withheld to protect the privacy of the drivers but none resulted in an accident or injury, Ramshaw said.

KiwiRail operates freight trains, Wellington Metro trains and locomotive-hauled passenger trains on the Auckland Metro network.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson said good safety plans were in place for dealing with issues like fatigue, including limits on working hours.

The vigilance device system was an industry standard, but "the train can still go a long way in the 50 seconds between cycles", he said. A more sophisticated protection system being installed during the Auckland network upgrade will monitor if trains stop at red signals.

The New Zealand Transport Agency said KiwiRail had an approved safety strategy, including plans for managing fatigue and drug and alcohol use. Serious incidents are dealt with by the agency, the Department of Labour and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

The commission's latest findings include a report into an incident involving a partial brake failure, in which an empty passenger train hit a platform at Britomart.

It also ruled on a 2008 case in which a South Island coal train over-ran the point where it should have stopped by more than 8km because the driver was chatting to people in the cab.

heather.mccracken@hos.co.nz