Tranz Rail faces commuter heat

Thousands of commuters have been delayed up to two hours this week by new rail safety rules that force trains to slow when warm weather heats the tracks.

The rule, brought in 10 days ago, forces Tranz Rail inspectors to check for warping or buckling when sensors hooked up to railway tracks show they have heated to more than 30C.

Passenger trains must slow to 40km/h until the checks are finished, and goods trains must slow to that speed in defined areas.

Tranz Rail is trying to find ways to curb the buckling, which has been made worse by a new method of laying tracks.

Traditionally, rail joins left space for the metal to expand and gave trains their distinctive "clickety-clack" sound. The modern method is to weld the tracks together, making them quieter and cheaper to maintain but leaving them little room to expand when heated.

Tranz Rail and the Land Transport Safety Authority have agreed on the new precautions to try to avoid derailments.

Up to 4000 Auckland commuters have already been delayed by the checks, raising fears of a setback for plans to entice Aucklanders from cars to rail.

The worst delay so far occurred on Tuesday, when hot rails between Auckland, Drury and Avondale delayed more than 3500 peak-time commuters.

The convener of the Campaign for Better Transport, Cameron Pitches, said commuters would abandon rail if the delays continued.

"On the other hand, Tranz Rail has a bad safety record - at least they're addressing that."

Tranz Rail said the Drury delay started at 3.15pm and went for two hours, and the Avondale delay started at 2.45pm and lasted one to two hours. Twenty-four trains were affected.

A probe into heat buckling last summer found six serious instances between December 2000 and March last year, five causing derailments.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission urged Tranz Rail to make five changes to its procedures, such as training staff to recognise heat buckling.

Tranz Rail's general manager of safety, Jeff Weber, said yesterday that buckling had always been an issue but had become worse during this summer's unpredictable weather.

"From a customer service standpoint it's not good to have people waiting," he said.

The Land Transport Safety Authority said its main concern was for passengers and rail workers.