Urgent changes needed to prevent further deaths at level crossings

A train crosses the level crossing at Morningside Station, St. Lukes. Photo / Janna Dixon

Urgent changes are being recommended at level crossings in Auckland and Wellington after a 24-year-old man was struck and killed by a train.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) is still investigating the death of Tejas Patel at the Morningside Station in Auckland on January 30.

This morning, the commission released three urgent recommendations on level crossings. It is yet to release its final report.

The TAIC said the Morningside Station platform did not have any visual alarms or physical barriers to stop pedestrians from leaving the station and crossing the railway tracks when a train was approaching.

It recommended the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) put in place some form of active warning device or barrier that would prevent pedestrians inadvertently stepping out in front of trains when entering or exiting the Morningside Station platform.

The investigation found NZTA and KiwiRail did not have a system for responsibility over the safety of pedestrians on the boundary of the train station and the railway corridor.

The TAIC recommended the two agencies decide who was responsible for controlling and protecting pedestrians around trains.

The commission has recommended NZTA review all pedestrian rail crossings in Auckland and Wellington after finding the level of protection for people using pedestrian rail crossings in the metropolitan rail network was unlikely to be adequate.

The TAIC said the risk assessment process for pedestrian rail crossings is not keeping pace with the infrastructure changes and increasing patronage on the metropolitan passenger trains.

Mr Patel caught the train from Henderson, where he worked at a Spark store in WestCity Mall, and was leaving the Morningside Station in Sandringham while texting on his phone.

His best friend Pouria Asjhari, 22, said Mr Patel, known as TJ, lived in the Morningside apartments 600m down the street from the train station and often listened to music on his phone while he commuted to and from work.

"He often listened to music on his phone, so he must not have heard the sirens and bells and crossed after the first train," he said.

The TAIC is holding a press conference this morning to discuss the recommendations in the report.