A truckie tried to leap from his vehicle moments before it was hit by a train in Waikato, an inquest has been told.

A train and truck have collided in South Canterbury this morning.

An Auckland passenger train derailed earlier this year due to the failure to interpret signals, an internal investigation has found.

A train driver who had smoked cannabis in the days before a crash at Lower Hutt last year no longer works for KiwiRail, the company says.

A digger driver who was critically injured after being hit by a train this morning was carrying out work for KiwiRail.

Marzena Simpson says she's not a hero for helping to save the life of a wheelchair-bound woman stuck on train tracks - but two awards for bravery say otherwise.

Part of the train line north of Wellington has been closed down while an investigation takes place into why a passenger train derailed at Lower Hutt's Melling Station this morning.

The crash between a vehicle and a freight train last night occurred at a level crossing controlled by lights only at the intersection of Hunter and Sedgebrook roads in Patumahoe.

Two people have been flown to Middlemore Hospital with serious injuries after their car was hit by a freight train at a controlled level crossing in South Auckland tonight.

A train derailment in Auckland has resulted in two train workers being hospitalised.

It was an exhausting 18-hour journey: First their train was involved in a fatal collision with a truck, then it was delayed by a fire. But passengers coped 'amazingly'.

A truck driver who died after his vehicle collided with a train had earlier told a colleague how he was looking forward to playing with his children at the end of the day.

A fatal collision between a truck and train today was a tragic reminder of the care that motorists needed to take around railway crossings, according to a rail safety group

An investigation is under way following a large derailment near Palmerston, north of Dunedin, this morning.

Heroes were lauded but no one was ever held to account for the deadly carnage that ensued when the Wellington-to-Auckland overnight express plunged into the Whangaehu River 60 years ago.

A truck driver in his early 60's has been flown to Auckland hospital in a critical condition after a freight train collided with his vehicle in Kumeu, northwest of Auckland.

Passengers on a steam train excursion from Paekakariki to Wanganui got more than a gentle ride on a piece of history when a car crashed and rolled on to the track a few hundred metres in front of them.

It was a horrifying scene involving a terrified woman trapped on a railway line in a wheelchair - but two strangers didn't think twice when it came to helping her.

Fatality sparks safety call, and experts warn that quieter trains will increase risks.